Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Timor-Leste, you would:
Health
live 9.7 years longer
In Timor-Leste, the average life expectancy is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 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 6.8 times more likely to be obese
In Timor-Leste, 3.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 5.6 times more money
Timor-Leste has a GDP per capita of $4,600 as of 2023, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $25,800 as of 2023.
be 39.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Timor-Leste, 41.8% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 25.5% as of 2022.
be 5.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Timor-Leste, 1.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.3% as of 2023.
Life
be 89.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Timor-Leste, approximately 204.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Costa Rica, 22.0 women do as of 2020.
be 43.9% more likely to be literate
In Timor-Leste, the literacy rate is 68.1% as of 2018. In Costa Rica, it is 98.0% as of 2021.
be 75.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Timor-Leste, approximately 33.7 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 63.6% fewer children
In Timor-Leste, there are approximately 29.7 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 2.1 times more likely to have internet access
In Timor-Leste, approximately 39.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Costa Rica, about 83.0% do as of 2021.
be 14.4% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Timor-Leste, approximately 87% of people have improved drinking water access (98% in urban areas, and 82% 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 20.2% less on healthcare
Timor-Leste spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2020.
spend 59.5% more on education
Timor-Leste spends 4.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 82.7% more coastline
Timor-Leste has a total of 706 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 Timor-Leste? See an in-depth size comparison.