Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Tuvalu, you would:
Health
live 13.7 years longer
In Tuvalu, the average life expectancy is 67 years (64 years for men, 71 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.
be 49.8% less likely to be obese
In Tuvalu, 65.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 15.4% more spent on your healthcare
Tuvalu spends $1,671 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 99.6% more doctors per person
Tuvalu has 13.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
have 55.8% more access to essential health services
Tuvalu scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
Economy
make 3.3 times more money
Tuvalu has a GDP per capita of $6,041 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 85.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Tuvalu, approximately 170.0 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 44.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Tuvalu, approximately 16.5 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 54.5% fewer children
In Tuvalu, there are approximately 22.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 58.7% less on education
Tuvalu spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 74.6% less on healthcare
Tuvalu spends 27.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 53.8 times more coastline
Tuvalu has a total of 24 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 13.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Tuvalu, road accidents kill 17.9 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
Tuvalu has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Tuvalu vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Tuvalu? See an in-depth size comparison.