Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.6 years less

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

Economy

be 78.4% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Algeria, however, that number is 5.5% as of 2011.

make 40.7% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Algeria, the GDP per capita is $15,300 as of 2023.

be 42.3% more likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Algeria, that number is 11.8% as of 2023.

pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Algeria, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 87.0% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Algeria, there are 20.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.5 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 Algeria, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 16.9% less likely to be literate

In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2021. In Algeria, it is 81.4% as of 2018.

be 2.4 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 Algeria, on the other hand, 19.7 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 14.5% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Algeria, about 71.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 20.3% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Algeria, that number is 6.3% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 22.6% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Algeria, that number is 998 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Direction Générale des Impôts, Algeria, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Algeria: At a glance

Algeria is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 2,381,740 sq km. After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), was established in 1954 as part of the struggle for independence and has largely dominated politics since. The Government of Algeria in 1988 instituted a multi-party system in response to public unrest, but the surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting led the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. Fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense violence from 1992-98, resulting in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s, and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, with the backing of the military, won the presidency in 1999 in an election widely viewed as fraudulent. He was reelected to a second term in 2004 and overwhelmingly won a third term in 2009, after the government amended the constitution in 2008 to remove presidential term limits. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA, including large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in 2006 merged with al-Qa'ida to form al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which has launched an ongoing series of kidnappings and bombings targeting the Algerian Government and Western interests. The government in 2011 introduced some political reforms in response to the Arab Spring, including lifting the 19-year-old state of emergency restrictions and increasing women's quotas for elected assemblies. Parliamentary elections in May 2012 and municipal and provincial elections in November 2012 saw continued dominance by the FLN, with Islamist opposition parties performing poorly. Political protest activity in the country remained low in 2013, but small, sometimes violent socioeconomic demonstrations by disparate groups continued to be a common occurrence. Parliament in 2014 is expected to revise the constitution.
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