Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of North Korea, you would:
Health
live 7.9 years longer
In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.
be 3.8 times more likely to be obese
In North Korea, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 11.6 times more money
North Korea has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2015, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 68.4% less likely to be unemployed
In North Korea, 25.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
Life
be 69.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In North Korea, approximately 89.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 62.2% less likely to die during infancy
In North Korea, approximately 22.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 8.4 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 3.8 times more likely to have access to electricity
In North Korea, approximately 26% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
Geography
see 48.3% less coastline
North Korea has a total of 2,495 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.