Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Libya, you would:
Health
live 9.9 years longer
In Libya, the average life expectancy is 71 years (70 years for men, 73 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 82.7% more spent on your healthcare
Libya spends $1,055 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 30.6% more access to essential health services
Libya scores 62 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 61.2% more likely to die by suicide
Libya has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 63.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Libya, 18.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 3.1 times more money
Libya has a GDP per capita of $6,449 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 59.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Libya, approximately 59.0 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 15.2% more likely to die during infancy
In Libya, approximately 7.9 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 39.5% fewer children
In Libya, there are approximately 16.5 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 36.6% more likely to have access to electricity
In Libya, approximately 73% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 12.0% less on healthcare
Libya spends 7.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 27.1% less coastline
Libya has a total of 1,770 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 54.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Libya, road accidents kill 34.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 5.2 times more home broadband
Libya has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
live with 99.3% less strain on fresh water
Libya withdraws 817% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
use 39.9% less electricity
Libya uses 3,796 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 72.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Libya, air pollution causes 54.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 81.2% less CO2
Libya emits 8.7 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), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Libya vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Libya? See an in-depth size comparison.