Chile vs Costa Rica

Chile and Costa Rica compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Chile has about 3.9 times as many people as Costa Rica: 19.9 million against 5.2 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Costa Rica ($19,970) is 11% higher than in Chile ($17,995) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Costa Rica (4.6%) than in Chile (2.5%), a difference of 2.1 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Chile (4.2%) than in Costa Rica (-0.1%), a difference of 4.3 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Chile (9%) than in Costa Rica (6.8%), a difference of 2.2 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Chile can expect to live 0.4 years longer than one born in Costa Rica: 81.4 years against 81 years in 2024.
• The population of Chile is older: half of its people are over 36 years, against 34.1 years in Costa Rica in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Chile (95.6%) than in Costa Rica (87.2%), a difference of 8.4 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Chile (3.9 tonnes) are about 2.4 times as high as in Costa Rica (1.6 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Costa Rica (59.1%) than in Chile (24.5%), a difference of 34.6 percentage points in 2024.