Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Tuvalu instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 13.7 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Tuvalu, that number is 67 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
be 99.1% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Tuvalu, that number is 65.1% of people as of 2024.
see 13.3% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Tuvalu spends $1,671 as of 2023.
have 49.9% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Tuvalu has 13.5 as of 2020.
have 35.8% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Tuvalu scores 52 as of 2021.
Economy
make 69.7% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Tuvalu, the GDP per capita is $6,041 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.2 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Tuvalu, there are 22.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 7.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 24.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Tuvalu, 170.0 women do as of 2023.
be 81.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Costa Rica, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Tuvalu, on the other hand, 16.5 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.4 times more on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Tuvalu spends 12.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 3.9 times more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Tuvalu, that number is 27.1% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 98.1% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Tuvalu, that number is 24 km.
Safety
be 15.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Tuvalu, they kill 17.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 80.6% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Tuvalu has 4.5 as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Tuvalu
Tuvalu: At a glance
How big is Tuvalu compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.