Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 4.9 years less

In Cuba, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 40.7% less money

Cuba has a GDP per capita of $12,300 as of 2016, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $7,300 as of 2023.

be 4.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 1.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 4.8% as of 2023.

Life

have 65.7% more children

In Cuba, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 16.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 100.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 39.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 17.2% less likely to be literate

In Cuba, the literacy rate is 99.7% as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

be 4.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In Cuba, approximately 4.1 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 Cuba, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Nicaragua, 86% of the population do as of 2022.

be 19.7% less likely to have internet access

In Cuba, approximately 71.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 15.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Cuba, approximately 98% of people have improved drinking water access (99% in urban areas, and 97% 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.

Expenditures

spend 64.1% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. Nicaragua spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 31.2% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 12.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 75.6% less coastline

Cuba has a total of 3,735 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.
Read more

How big is Nicaragua compared to Cuba? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nicaragua.or Cuba It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.