Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Singapore instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 6.7 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Singapore, that number is 86 years (84 years for men, 89 years for women) as of 2022.
be 76.3% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Singapore, that number is 6.1% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 4.9 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in Singapore, the GDP per capita is $108,000 as of 2022.
be 68.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Singapore, that number is 3.6% as of 2022.
pay a 46.7% higher top tax rate
Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Singapore, the top tax rate is 22.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 68.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Singapore, 7.0 women do as of 2020.
be 81.5% 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 Singapore, on the other hand, 1.6 children do as of 2022.
have 18.5% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Singapore, there are 8.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 58.2% less on education
Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Singapore spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 22.8% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Singapore, that number is 6.1% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 85.0% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Singapore, that number is 193 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Singapore: At a glance
How big is Singapore compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.