Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Puerto Rico, that number is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 66.7% more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Puerto Rico, the GDP per capita is $43,000 as of 2023.
be 28.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Puerto Rico, that number is 6.0% as of 2023.
pay a 2.2 times higher top tax rate
Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Puerto Rico, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 28.0% less 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 Puerto Rico, on the other hand, 6.0 children do as of 2022.
be 54.5% more likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Puerto Rico, 34.0 women do as of 2020.
have 27.8% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, there are 7.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 46.3% less on education
Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Puerto Rico spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 61.2% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Puerto Rico, that number is 501 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Puerto Rican Department of Treasury, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Puerto Rico: At a glance
How big is Puerto Rico compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.