Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Greece, you would:
Health
live 0.8 years less
In Greece, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
be 19.2% more likely to be obese
In Greece, 27.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 44.2% less spent on your healthcare
Greece spends $3,454 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 59.1% fewer doctors per person
Greece has 65.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
be 72.2% more likely to die by suicide
Greece has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 19.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Greece, 8.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 25.9% less money
Greece has a GDP per capita of $26,948 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
have 51.4% more children
In Greece, there are approximately 6.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Greece, approximately 5.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In Greece, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 9.1 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 18.1% less on healthcare
Greece spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 57.1% more on education
Greece spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 90.6% less coastline
Greece has a total of 13,676 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 21.1 times more likely to be murdered
Greece has a homicide rate of 0.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 2.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Greece, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 71.1% less strain on fresh water
Greece withdraws 20% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
find 47.9% less home broadband
Greece has 44.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
use 51.3% less electricity
Greece uses 4,686 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 34.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Greece, air pollution causes 23.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 67.7% less CO2
Greece emits 5.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Greece vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Greece? See an in-depth size comparison.