Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.9 years longer

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Spain, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 79.8% more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Spain, the GDP per capita is $46,400 as of 2023.

be 20.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Spain, however, that number is 20.2% as of 2022.

be 46.3% more likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Spain, that number is 12.1% as of 2023.

pay a 3.0 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Spain, the top tax rate is 45.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 86.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Spain, 3.0 women do as of 2020.

be 70.6% 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 Spain, on the other hand, 2.5 children do as of 2022.

have 34.3% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Spain, there are 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 13.3% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Spain, about 94.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 31.3% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Spain spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 35.4% more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Spain, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 3.8 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Spain, that number is 4,964 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Agencia Tributaria, Spain, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Spain: At a glance

Spain is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 498,980 sq km. Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World War I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently the government has had to focus on measures to reverse a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008. Austerity measures implemented to reduce a large budget deficit and reassure foreign investors have led to one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe.
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How big is Spain compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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