Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
have 20.2% more doctors per person
Maldives has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
have 32.8% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 83.1% more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 15.7% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
be 5.5 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 36.6% more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
be 51.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 25.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 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 93.6% more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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.
Expenditures
spend 25.7% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.0 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 11.9 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 18.5% more home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
live with 62.5% less strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 48.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 54.3% less CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.