🇨🇷 Costa Rica vs 🇷🇺 Russia
Side by side on the data that actually changes your life: prices, taxes, climate, air, safety. Every number has a source and a date.
Climate (capital)
Open-Meteo historical weather
Jan 20° · Jul 21° · San José
Jan -1° · Jul 22° · Moscow
Sunny days (capital)
Open-Meteo, days with over 4.5h of sunshine
341 days / yr
204 days / yr
Air quality (capital)
WAQI, capital station
AQI 21 · Good
AQI 30 · Good
Big Mac price
The Economist Big Mac index (euro-area countries share one euro-area price)
$6.04
$1.74
Employment taxes (not your rate)
OECD tax wedge, single average worker
~28% of what a job costs goes to tax (2025)
—
Special tax regimes
Official tax authorities, verified June 2026
Territorial taxation
None curated
Inflation
World Bank
-0.1% / yr (2025)
8.7% / yr (2025)
Unemployment
World Bank, ILO-modelled estimate
6.8% (2025)
2.1% (2025)
Internet (median fixed)
Ookla Speedtest Global Index
—
~90 Mbps
English proficiency
EF English Proficiency Index
—
low
Messenger apps
OONI network measurements, last 6 months
No known issues
Issues: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger
Safety advisory
U.S. State Department travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Level 4 · Do Not Travel
Population
World Bank total population
5.2M (2025)
143.5M (2025)
Population density
World Bank, people per km²
100 / km² (2023)
9 / km² (2023)
Foreign-born residents
World Bank migrant stock
12.2% of population (2024)
5.3% of population (2024)
Life expectancy
WHO
79 yrs
70 yrs
Currency
ISO 4217
CRC
RUB
Timezone (capital)
Open-Meteo
UTC-6
UTC+3
Crypto-friendly
Legal
Short-term gains
0%
15%
Long-term gains
0%
13%
Long-term holding period
—
—
Staking income
—
—
Mining income
—
—
General rates, not personal tax advice.
Climate, inflation and life expectancy verified 12 July 2026. Prices, taxes and air quality verified 7 July 2026. Sources shown per row.
Bottom line: which should you choose?
Pick 🇨🇷 Costa Rica if you want
more sunshine and a stronger safety rating.
Pick 🇷🇺 Russia if you want
lower day-to-day costs.
Based only on the sourced metrics above. Visa eligibility and paperwork depend on your passport — build a free plan for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Costa Rica or Russia cheaper?
Russia is the cheaper of the two on our comparable cost measure (Big Mac $1.74 vs $6.04). Your real cost depends on the city and lifestyle — see the full table above, then generate a free plan for a budget matched to your exact move.
Should I choose Costa Rica over Russia?
On the data we track, Costa Rica comes out ahead for more sunshine and a stronger safety rating, while Russia wins on lower day-to-day costs. Every figure has a source in the table above.
Special tax regimes, verified
Regimes change often and many sites still advertise closed ones. We link the official source for each.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Foreign-source income untaxed
Verified June 2026 · Ministerio de Hacienda
Numbers are half the story
Your visa route, paperwork and deadlines depend on where you hold a passport. Get a free checklist personalized to your exact move.