Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Colombia, you would:

Economy

be 49.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Colombia, 9.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 4.8% as of 2023.

be 32.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Colombia, 36.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.

make 61.2% less money

Colombia has a GDP per capita of $18,800 as of 2023, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $7,300 as of 2023.

Life

have 10.1% more children

In Colombia, there are approximately 14.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 16.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 13.6% less likely to be literate

In Colombia, the literacy rate is 95.6% as of 2020. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

be 63.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Colombia, approximately 11.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, 19.1 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 13.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Colombia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 86% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 66% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 21.9% less likely to have internet access

In Colombia, approximately 73.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 14.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Colombia, approximately 98% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 88% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 83% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Geography

see 71.6% less coastline

Colombia has a total of 3,208 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Nicaragua: At a glance

Nicaragua is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 119,990 sq km. The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential elections, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
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How big is Nicaragua compared to Colombia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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