Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
live 3.1 years less
In Sweden, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 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 24.8% more likely to be obese
In Sweden, 20.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
pay a 73.7% lower top tax rate
Sweden has a top tax rate of 57.1% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
make 61.1% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $50,700 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 19.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 6.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
be 22.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Sweden, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
have 31.9% more children
In Sweden, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 6.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Sweden, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 3.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In Sweden, approximately 2.3 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 14.7% less likely to have internet access
In Sweden, approximately 95.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 11.8% less on education
Sweden spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 33.0% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 59.9% less coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 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, Skatteverket, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.