Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Venezuela instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 29.7% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Venezuela, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.
live 8.3 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Venezuela, that number is 73 years (69 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.
see 90.4% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Venezuela spends $186 as of 2023.
Economy
be 22.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Venezuela, that number is 5.3% as of 2025.
make 82.5% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Venezuela, the GDP per capita is $3,495 as of 2025.
Life
have 52.5% more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Venezuela, there are 15.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 9.5 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 Venezuela, 227.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.3 times 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 Venezuela, on the other hand, 21.2 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.0% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Venezuela, about 76.7% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 45.0% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Venezuela, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.2 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Venezuela, that number is 2,800 km.
Safety
be 28.7% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Venezuela, that number is 12.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 14.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Venezuela, they kill 13.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 44.4% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Venezuela has 12.9 as of 2024.
live with 28.2% more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Venezuela withdraws 8% as of 2022.
use 14.4% less electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Venezuela uses 1,953 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 2.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Venezuela, it causes 32.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Venezuela emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Venezuela
Venezuela: At a glance
How big is Venezuela compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.