Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 21.0% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Paraguay, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2016.

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 Paraguay, that number is 78 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 30.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Paraguay, that number is 5.8% as of 2023.

make 39.1% less money

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

Life

have 47.2% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Paraguay, there are 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.2 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 Paraguay, 71.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.8 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 Paraguay, on the other hand, 23.2 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 50.7% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Paraguay spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

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

Paraguay: At a glance

Paraguay is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 397,302 sq km. Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811. In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) - between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay - Paraguay lost two-thirds of its adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century. Following the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia, Paraguay gained a large part of the Chaco lowland region. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER ended in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, Paraguay has held relatively free and regular presidential elections since the country's return to democracy.
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How big is Paraguay compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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