Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Italy, you would:
Health
live 3.0 years less
In Italy, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.
be 29.1% more likely to be obese
In Italy, 19.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
pay a 69.3% lower top tax rate
Italy has a top tax rate of 48.8% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
make 50.1% less money
Italy has a GDP per capita of $44,300 as of 2022, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2022.
be 40.3% more likely to be unemployed
In Italy, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 11.3% as of 2022.
be 26.9% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Italy, 20.1% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 25.5% as of 2022.
Life
have 52.1% more children
In Italy, there are approximately 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Italy, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Costa Rica, 22.0 women do as of 2020.
be 2.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In Italy, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 8.4 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 10.7% more likely to have internet access
In Italy, approximately 75.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Costa Rica, about 83.0% do as of 2021.
Expenditures
spend 17.7% less on healthcare
Italy spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2020.
spend 55.8% more on education
Italy spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 83.0% less coastline
Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Italian Revenue Agency, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.