Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 6.3 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Venezuela, that number is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 33.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Venezuela, that number is 5.5% as of 2023.

make 70.1% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $25,800 as of 2023, while in Venezuela, the GDP per capita is $7,704 as of 2018.

be 29.8% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Venezuela, however, that number is 33.1% as of 2015.

pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Venezuela, the top tax rate is 34.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 54.6% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Venezuela, there are 16.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 11.8 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 Venezuela, 259.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.1 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 Venezuela, on the other hand, 17.7 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 80.6% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Venezuela spends 1.3% of total GDP on education as of 2017.

spend 51.9% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Venezuela, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 2.2 times more coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Venezuela, that number is 2,800 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministerio del Poder Popular de Finanzas, SENIAT, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Venezuela: At a glance

Venezuela is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 882,050 sq km. Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, sought to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purported to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions. His hand-picked successor, President Nicolas MADURO, continues CHAVEZ's socialist programs. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, foreign exchange controls that discourage private-sector investment, high inflation, a decline in the quality of fundamental houman rights, and widespread scarcity of consumer goods.
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How big is Venezuela compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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