Costa Rica vs United States

Costa Rica
Latin America & Caribbean
High income
Capital: San Jose
Population
5.1M
GDP
$96.7B
United States
North America
High income
Capital: Washington D.C.
Population
340.1M
GDP
$28.8T

POP 66.3x GDP 297.3x LE 2.1 yrs same-band HIC

Widest indicator spreads · Costa Rica vs United States

Inflation (Consumer Pric…114%Net Migration99.9%GDP (Current USD)99.7%Population98.5%Foreign Direct Investment98.2%CO2 Emissions Per Capita88%Electric Power Consumption82.2%Freshwater Withdrawal80.7%
WIDE pair: the board is the Inflation (Consumer Prices) gap first (Costa Rica HIC vs United States HIC).

Demographics: Population (United States, 98% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
Population 5.1M 340.1M 2024
Population Density 100.0 36.8 2023
Population Ages 65+ 12.2% 17.9% 2024

4 closer demographics rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Economy: Inflation (Consumer Prices) (United States, 114% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
Inflation (Consumer Prices) -0.4% 2.9% 2024
GDP (Current USD) $96.7B $28.8T 2024
Foreign Direct Investment $5.4B $297.1B 2024
GDP Per Capita (Current USD) $18,853.283 $84,534.041 2024

5 closer economy rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Health: Health Expenditure (% of GDP) (United States, 59% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
Health Expenditure (% of GDP) 6.9% 16.7% 2023
Stunting Prevalence (under 5) 9.0% 3.8% 2018
Infant Mortality Rate 9.1 5.5 2024
Under-5 Mortality Rate 10.4 6.5 2024

3 closer health rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Education: School Enrollment (Tertiary) (United States, 31% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
School Enrollment (Tertiary) 55.0% 79.4% 2019
School Enrollment (Secondary) 121.8% 97.5% 2024

4 closer education rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Environment: CO2 Emissions Per Capita (Costa Rica, 88% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
CO2 Emissions Per Capita 1.6 13.6 2024
Electric Power Consumption 2,282 12,839 2024
Freshwater Withdrawal 3.1% 15.8% 2022
Renewable Energy Consumption 34.2% 10.9% 2021

1 closer environment rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Infrastructure: Access to Sanitation (United States, 73% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
Access to Sanitation 26.3% 97.0% 2024
Access to Clean Water 80.5% 97.6% 2024
Mobile Subscriptions 136.0 113.2 2024

2 closer infrastructure rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Social: Net Migration (United States, 100% spread)

Indicator Costa Rica United States Year
Net Migration 967 1.3M 2024
Intentional Homicides 17.7 5.8 2023
Female Labor Participation 46.0% 56.6% 2024
Poverty (< $2.15/day) 1.3% 1.1% 2024

2 closer social rows sit on the Costa Rica and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

How to read this Costa Rica vs United States comparison

Costa Rica (HIC, Latin America & Caribbean) vs United States (HIC, North America) is a WIDE WDI pair: population is 66.3x smaller (5.1M vs 340.1M) and total GDP is 297.3x smaller ($96.7B vs $28.8T). The gap board leads on Inflation (Consumer Prices) (~114% relative spread) across 48 indicators in 8 topics. Same income tier; rate and stock gaps are the sharper policy read. Figures may come from different reporting years; dollar values move with exchange rates; national averages conceal inequality. See our methodology.

Other curated pairs · WIDE band

Indexable comparisons only (Module 42). Full picker with every country lives on /compare, not duplicated under every pair.

Costa Rica vs United States figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · same-band HIC · WIDE scale band.