Moving to Maldives from Costa Rica
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Costa Rica to Maldives — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Costa Rica to Maldives, you would find that Maldives is 13.8% cheaper than Costa Rica overall. A CRC34,000,000 salary in Costa Rica would need to be roughly MVR993,000 in Maldives to maintain the same lifestyle, and you’d need to navigate life in Maldivian. You’ll also switch from driving on the right to the left.
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The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 41.8% less
Groceries
pay 25.5% less
Transportation
pay 20.0% less
Housing
pay 25.2% more
Childcare
pay 76.4% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 27.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Maldives?
What does your salary buy?
CRC34,000,000 → MVR993,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Maldives
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Key Indicator Comparison
How Costa Rica and Maldives stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
per 100,000 people per year
per 100,000 people per year
Maldives performs significantly better than Costa Rica across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
annual government + private spending per person
affects wait times and access to care
WHO index from 0–100 measuring essential service access
share of adults with obesity
per 100,000 people — a proxy for mental health support
Costa Rica generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maldives leads in adult obesity rate.
What about the environment?
deaths attributable to air pollution per 100k people
tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year
Costa Rica performs better than Maldives across all environment metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
fixed broadband subscriptions — key for remote work
higher means greater strain on freshwater supply
share of households with internet
Costa Rica performs better than Maldives across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
share of people below the poverty line
Maldives generally does better on employment & economy, though Costa Rica leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
deaths per 1,000 live births — lower is better
government spending on education as % of GDP
percentage of adults who can read and write
Costa Rica generally does better on family life, though Maldives leads in life expectancy.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Can you move from Costa Rica to Maldives?
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Costa Rica and Maldives. To live, work, or study long-term in Maldives, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check Maldives's immigration authority.
Costa Rica passport holder visiting Maldives
Visa on Arrival
Maldives passport holder visiting Costa Rica
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Maldives than Costa Rica?
Generally yes: Maldives runs about 14% cheaper than Costa Rica on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Maldives?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a CRC34,000,000 comparable salary, that's around MVR248,250 in Maldives for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from Maldives?
With 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Maldives can support video calls in major cities. The hard part is paperwork — visa category, employer policy on overseas staff, and tax residency in Costa Rica and Maldives.
Is Maldives safe for expats?
Maldives performs significantly better than Costa Rica across all safety metrics. The homicide rate in Maldives is 0.6 per 100,000 people, compared to 17.8 in Costa Rica.
How is healthcare in Maldives compared to Costa Rica?
Costa Rica generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maldives leads in adult obesity rate. There are 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people in Maldives, compared to 26.9 in Costa Rica. Maldives scores 61 on the WHO universal health coverage index (Costa Rica: 81).
What language do they speak in Maldives?
The official language in Maldives is Maldivian. In Costa Rica, the official language is Spanish.
