If you lived in Samoa instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 4.5 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Samoa, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

be 84.0% more likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Samoa, that number is 47.3% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 11.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Samoa, that number is 10.0% as of 2022.

be 14.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Samoa, however, that number is 21.9% as of 2018.

make 76.5% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,200 as of 2022.

pay a 80.0% higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Samoa, the top tax rate is 27.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 74.1% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 18.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Samoa, 59.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Samoa, on the other hand, 17.0 children do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 28.4% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Samoa spends 4.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 32.9% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Samoa, that number is 5.3% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 68.8% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Revenue, Samoa, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Samoa: At a glance

Samoa is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 2,821 sq km. New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
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How big is Samoa compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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