Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.3 years less

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

be 10.1% more likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Argentina, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 25.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Argentina, that number is 6.2% as of 2023.

be 53.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Argentina, however, that number is 39.2% as of 2022.

pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate

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

Life

have 40.7% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Argentina, there are 15.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.0 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 Argentina, 45.0 women do as of 2020.

be 11.4% 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 Argentina, on the other hand, 9.3 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 25.4% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Argentina spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 26.6% more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Argentina, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 3.9 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Argentina, that number is 4,989 km.

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

Argentina: At a glance

Argentina is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 2,736,690 sq km. In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, with Italy and Spain providing the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era of Peronist populism and direct and indirect military interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) by force, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents. In January 2013, Argentina assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
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How big is Argentina compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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