Costa Rica vs Mexico

Costa Rica

7.37 / 10

Mexico

6.56 / 10

Costa Rica leads overall

Score comparison table

DimensionCosta RicaMexico
Lucky Nomads World Index
7.37 / 106.56 / 10
SafetyShield Index
6.2 / 104.5 / 10
Affordability Index
7.0 / 107.7 / 10
Entry Ease Index
6.6 / 107.2 / 10
Tax Freedom Index
8.6 / 105.0 / 10
WiFi Index
8.0 / 107.3 / 10
Admin Ease Index
7.2 / 106.0 / 10
Healthcare Index
8.4 / 108.0 / 10
City Comfort Index
7.7 / 107.6 / 10
WeatherComfort Index
6.5 / 107.8 / 10
Banking Index
6.8 / 105.8 / 10
GeoStability Index
8.6 / 105.5 / 10
Justice & Order Index
7.8 / 104.2 / 10
Quality of Life Index
8.4 / 107.5 / 10
Open Society Index
7.9 / 106.3 / 10
Flight Index
3.6 / 104.8 / 10
Environmental Quality Index
8.3 / 107.2 / 10
English Index
5.0 / 105.1 / 10
Wealth Protection Index
8.1 / 107.9 / 10

Tax, economy, and demographics

DimensionCosta RicaMexico
Corporate income tax
30%Very high
30%Very high
Corporate tax basis
Territorial
Worldwide
Personal income tax (marginal)
25%Moderate
35%High
Personal tax basis
Territorial
Worldwide
Population5.2 M
133.0 M×26
Area51,100 km²
1,964,375 km²×38
Population density102 /km²68 /km²
CapitalSan JoséMexico City
CurrencyCRC (Costa Rican colón)MXN (Mexican peso)
Main airportSJO (Juan Santamaría International Airport)MEX (Mexico City International Airport)
Phone code+506+52
Internet TLD.cr.mx

Visa access controls

Your access

Pick your nationality above to see how long you can stay in each country and whether you need a visa.

Passport power

Mobility strength of each country's passport, useful if you are weighing it as a future citizenship.

Costa Rica passport

52.18

LN Passport Index (#51)

148

Visa-free destinations

  • Schengen visa-free
  • UK visa-free

Mexico passport

43.31

LN Passport Index (#80)

147

Visa-free destinations

  • Schengen visa-free

Verdict

For professionals who prioritize justice & order index, Costa Rica leads with 7.8 / 10 versus 4.2 / 10 for Mexico. On tax freedom index, Costa Rica is at 8.6 / 10 compared with 5.0 / 10 for Mexico.

Who should choose which country

Who should choose Costa Rica

  • Professionals who prioritize tax freedom index (very favorable tax environment)
  • Professionals who prioritize geostability index (very strong geostability index)
  • Professionals who prioritize quality of life index (very strong quality of life index)

Who should choose Mexico

  • Professionals who prioritize healthcare index (strong healthcare access and quality)
  • Professionals who prioritize wealth protection index (strong wealth protection index)
  • Professionals who prioritize weathercomfort index (comfortable climate year-round)

Also compare

See full Costa Rica analysis →See full Mexico analysis →
Lucky Maillard, Founder of Lucky Nomads

Lucky Maillard

Founder, Lucky Nomads · Wealth manager

Researched from official sources, leading global indices and Lucky Nomads' own scoring.

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