Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Kiribati, you would:
Health
live 14.4 years longer
In Kiribati, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 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 28.3% less likely to be obese
In Kiribati, 45.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 4.8 times more spent on your healthcare
Kiribati spends $401 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 68.8% more access to essential health services
Kiribati scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 53.9% less likely to die by suicide
Kiribati has a suicide rate of 17.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 7.8 times more money
Kiribati has a GDP per capita of $2,559 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
be 3.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Kiribati, 5.5% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2025.
Life
be 70.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Kiribati, approximately 80.0 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 76.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Kiribati, approximately 38.8 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 60.5% fewer children
In Kiribati, there are approximately 25.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 26.2% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Kiribati, approximately 79% of people have access to drinking water (90% in urban areas, and 64% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 67.6% less on education
Kiribati spends 16.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 37.3% less on healthcare
Kiribati spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 12.9% more coastline
Kiribati has a total of 1,143 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 2.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Kiribati, road accidents kill 6.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 776.3 times more home broadband
Kiribati has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
Environment
be 69.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Kiribati, air pollution causes 49.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.8 times more CO2
Kiribati emits 0.6 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: Kiribati vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Kiribati? See an in-depth size comparison.