Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Somalia, you would:
Health
live 23.9 years longer
In Somalia, the average life expectancy is 56 years (53 years for men, 58 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 3.1 times more likely to be obese
In Somalia, 8.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 17.2 times more money
Somalia has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2023, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $25,800 as of 2023.
be 56.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Somalia, 19.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.3% as of 2023.
be 53.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Somalia, 54.4% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 25.5% as of 2022.
Life
be 96.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Somalia, approximately 621.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Costa Rica, 22.0 women do as of 2020.
be 90.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Somalia, approximately 86.5 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.
have 71.1% fewer children
In Somalia, there are approximately 37.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.0 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Somalia, approximately 49% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2022.
be 5.7 times more likely to have internet access
In Somalia, approximately 14.5% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Costa Rica, about 83.0% do as of 2021.
be 18.8% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Somalia, approximately 84% of people have improved drinking water access (96% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 22.3 times more on education
Somalia spends 0.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 57.4% less coastline
Somalia has a total of 3,025 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.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Somalia? See an in-depth size comparison.