Costa Rica vs Ecuador

Costa Rica scores 54.7 in the NationsTree Index (71st in the world) and Ecuador scores 45.2 (108th), a gap of 9.6 points. Their trees are 7.9 m and 10 m tall; tree height grows with real GDP and is adjusted by the index.

Ecuador has 3.5 times the population of Costa Rica. Ecuador is 5.0 times larger than Costa Rica by land area. The economy of Ecuador is 76% larger than that of Costa Rica (GDP at purchasing power parity). Population: Costa Rica 5.2 million and Ecuador 18.3 million (2025).

GDP per person at purchasing power parity is $33,815 in Costa Rica and $16,757 in Ecuador (2025, international dollars). People in Costa Rica live on average 3.4 years longer (81.0 vs 77.6 years).

Of 37 indicators reported by both countries, Costa Rica ranks higher in the world on 29 and Ecuador on 8. Costa Rica is clearly stronger in institutions & safety, society & health and environment & energy. Ecuador is clearly stronger in military, science & innovation and natural resources.

As a nation, Costa Rica is the older of the two (statehood since 1821, 205 years), compared with Ecuador (since 1840). Over the last five years Costa Rica improved faster (direction score 50 vs 41 out of 100).