Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 26.5% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Moldova, that number is 18.9% of people as of 2016.

live 7.2 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Moldova, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 80.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Moldova, that number is 1.6% as of 2023.

make 39.1% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Moldova, the GDP per capita is $15,700 as of 2023.

be 22.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Moldova, however, that number is 31.1% as of 2022.

pay a 20.0% higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Moldova, the top tax rate is 18.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 45.5% less likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Moldova, 12.0 women do as of 2020.

be 38.3% 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 Moldova, on the other hand, 11.6 children do as of 2022.

have 22.2% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Moldova, there are 8.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 13.9% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Moldova, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, State tax Service, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Moldova: At a glance

Moldova is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 32,891 sq km. Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the separatist region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizeable ethnic Moldovan minority. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009, following the opposition's gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party's (PCRM) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president and, by doing so, put into place a permanent government. Four Moldovan opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which have acted as Moldova's governing coalitions since. Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty between 2009 and early 2012, holding three general elections and numerous presidential ballots in parliament, all of which failed to secure a president. Following November 2010 parliamentary elections, a reconstituted AEI-coalition consisting of three of the four original AEI parties formed a government, and in March 2012 was finally able to elect an independent as president. As of late May 2013, the ruling coalition - comprised of two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third - is called the Pro-European Coalition. In November 2013, the Moldovan Government initialed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), advancing the coalition's policy priority of EU integration.
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