Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
live 4.3 years longer
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 2.4 times more money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $8,100 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
pay a 50.0% lower top tax rate
El Salvador has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
be 15.7% more likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 7.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
Life
be 41.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In El Salvador, approximately 46.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 30.9% less likely to die during infancy
In El Salvador, approximately 12.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 8.4 children do as of 2022.
have 20.1% fewer children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 47.3% more likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 55.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 97.1% more on education
El Salvador spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 4.2 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.