Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
be 62.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guyana, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
live 10.7 years longer
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 years for men, 74 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.
see 44.8% more spent on your healthcare
Guyana spends $1,331 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 93.7% more doctors per person
Guyana has 13.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
be 67.5% less likely to die by suicide
Guyana has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 42.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 12.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 38.4% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $32,414 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 68.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Guyana, approximately 75.0 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 10.4% more likely to be literate
In Guyana, the literacy rate is 88.8% as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 98.0% as of 2021.
be 60.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 23.2 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.
have 49.7% fewer children
In Guyana, there are approximately 19.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.8 times more on healthcare
Guyana spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.8 times more coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Infrastructure
find 80.0% more home broadband
Guyana has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
live with 78.2% more strain on fresh water
Guyana withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 71.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guyana, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 64.3% less CO2
Guyana emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), The World Factbook (2021), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Guyana vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.