Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.4 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Dominica, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 38.4% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Dominica, the GDP per capita is $15,900 as of 2023.

be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Dominica, that number is 23.0% as of 2000.

be 13.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Dominica, however, that number is 29.0% as of 2009.

Life

have 23.1% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Dominica, there are 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 34.3% 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 Dominica, on the other hand, 11.3 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 17.9% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Dominica spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 27.8% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Dominica, that number is 5.7% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 88.5% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Dominica, that number is 148 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Dominica: At a glance

Dominica is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 751 sq km. Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.
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How big is Dominica compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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