Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in United States instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 1.0 years longer

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 40.9% more likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.9 times more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $73,600 as of 2023.

be 56.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In United States, that number is 3.6% as of 2023.

be 40.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.

pay a 2.6 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.

Life

be 38.4% 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 United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.

have 13.0% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United States, there are 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 10.8% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In United States, about 92.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 2.4 times more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In United States, that number is 18.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 15.4 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.

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

United States: At a glance

United States (sometimes abbreviated US or USA) is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 9,147,593 sq km. Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
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How big is United States compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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