Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sweden instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 3.1 years longer

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Sweden, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

be 19.8% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sweden, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.6 times more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $50,700 as of 2020.

be 16.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Sweden, that number is 6.8% as of 2019.

be 18.6% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 21.0% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sweden, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2018.

pay a 3.8 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.

Life

be 85.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 27.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2017.

be 72.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sweden, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2022.

have 24.2% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Sweden, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 17.3% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Sweden, about 95.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 13.4% more on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sweden spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 49.3% more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Sweden, that number is 10.9% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 2.5 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Skatteverket, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Sweden: At a glance

Sweden is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 410,335 sq km. A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war for almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both world wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.
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How big is Sweden compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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