Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Gambia, you would:
Health
be 77.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Gambia, 1.8% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2020.
live 12.0 years longer
In Gambia, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 69 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.
be 2.5 times more likely to be obese
In Gambia, 10.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 9.0 times more money
Gambia has a GDP per capita of $2,200 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 56.8% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Gambia, 48.6% live below the poverty line as of 2015. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
be 95.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Gambia, approximately 597.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 92.7% more likely to be literate
In Gambia, the literacy rate is 50.8% as of 2015. In Costa Rica, it is 97.9% as of 2018.
be 77.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Gambia, approximately 37.2 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 50.4% fewer children
In Gambia, there are approximately 28.8 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 2.0 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Gambia, approximately 49% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
be 2.2 times more likely to have internet access
In Gambia, approximately 37.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
be 11.7% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Gambia, approximately 90% of people have improved drinking water access (92% in urban areas, and 86% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 2.3 times more on education
Gambia spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 92.1% more on healthcare
Gambia spends 3.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 16.1 times more coastline
Gambia has a total of 80 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.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Gambia? See an in-depth size comparison.