Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Uruguay, you would:
Health
live 1.2 years longer
In Uruguay, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 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.
Economy
pay a 50.0% lower top tax rate
Uruguay has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
be 2.4 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Uruguay, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
have 12.4% more children
In Uruguay, there are approximately 12.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 58.8% more likely to die during childbirth
In Uruguay, approximately 17.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
Expenditures
spend 22.3% less on healthcare
Uruguay spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
spend 42.6% more on education
Uruguay spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 95.5% more coastline
Uruguay has a total of 660 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, Dirección General Impositiva, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Uruguay? See an in-depth size comparison.