Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Panama, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 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 13.2% more likely to be obese
In Panama, 22.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
pay a 40.0% lower top tax rate
Panama has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
make 22.4% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $25,400 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 31.9% more likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 6.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2018. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
Life
be 48.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 52.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 49.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 16.4 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.
have 20.6% fewer children
In Panama, there are approximately 18.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 26.6% more likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 64.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 2.2 times more on education
Panama spends 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 48.2% less coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 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, General Directorate of Revenues, Panama, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.