Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 66.5% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mali, that number is 8.6% of people as of 2016.

live 17.2 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Mali, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 65 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 63.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Mali, that number is 3.0% as of 2023.

make 90.3% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Mali, the GDP per capita is $2,500 as of 2023.

be 74.9% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Mali, however, that number is 44.6% as of 2021.

Life

have 3.8 times more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mali, there are 41.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 20.0 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 Mali, 440.0 women do as of 2020.

be 63.8% less likely to be literate

In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2021. In Mali, it is 35.5% as of 2018.

be 7.2 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 Mali, on the other hand, 60.6 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 47.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Mali, 53% of the population do as of 2022.

be 59.0% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mali, about 34.0% do as of 2021.

be 13.6% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Mali, that number is 86% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 76% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 34.3% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Mali spends 4.4% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 45.6% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Mali, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2020.

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

Mali: At a glance

Mali is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,220,190 sq km. The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup that ushered in a period of democratic rule. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who was elected to a second term in 2007 elections that were widely judged to be free and fair. Malian returnees from Libya in 2011 exacerbated tensions in northern Mali, and Tuareg ethnic militias started a rebellion in January 2012. Low- and mid-level soldiers, frustrated with the poor handling of the rebellion overthrew TOURE on 22 March. Intensive mediation efforts led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) returned power to a civilian administration in April with the appointment of interim President Dioncounda TRAORE. The post-coup chaos led to rebels expelling the Malian military from the three northern regions of the country and allowed Islamic militants to set up strongholds. Hundreds of thousands of northern Malians fled the violence to southern Mali and neighboring countries, exacerbating regional food insecurity in host communities. An international military intervention to retake the three northern regions began in January 2013 and within a month most of the north had been retaken. In a democratic presidential election conducted in July and August of 2013, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA was elected president in the second round.
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