Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Israel, you would:
Health
live 2.2 years less
In Israel, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 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 47.1% more likely to be obese
In Israel, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 52.2% less spent on your healthcare
Israel spends $4,033 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 29.2% fewer doctors per person
Israel has 38.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
be 84.4% more likely to die by suicide
Israel has a suicide rate of 4.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 96.0% more likely to be unemployed
In Israel, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 66.9% less money
Israel has a GDP per capita of $60,337 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 12.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Israel, approximately 2.0 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 3.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Israel, approximately 2.7 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 46.3% fewer children
In Israel, there are approximately 18.6 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 10.5% less on education
Israel spends 5.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 4.7 times more coastline
Israel has a total of 273 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 10.9 times more likely to be murdered
Israel has a homicide rate of 1.6 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 3.7 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Israel, road accidents kill 4.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 95.5% less strain on fresh water
Israel withdraws 132% of its available fresh water each year as of 2021. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
find 20.2% less home broadband
Israel has 29.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
use 68.2% less electricity
Israel uses 7,186 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 71.8% less CO2
Israel emits 5.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Israel vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Israel? See an in-depth size comparison.