Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 57.1% less likely to be obese

In Palau, 55.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Nicaragua, that number is 23.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 53.8% less money

Palau has a GDP per capita of $15,800 as of 2023, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $7,300 as of 2023.

be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed

In Palau, 1.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2015. In Nicaragua, that number is 4.8% as of 2023.

Life

have 41.4% more children

In Palau, there are approximately 11.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 16.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 14.5% less likely to be literate

In Palau, the literacy rate is 96.6% as of 2015. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

be 69.2% more likely to die during infancy

In Palau, approximately 11.3 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 53.2% more likely to have internet access

In Palau, approximately 37.2% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 13.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Palau, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 97% 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 16.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Palau, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 32.4% less on education

Palau spends 6.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Nicaragua spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 53.3% less on healthcare

Palau spends 18.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 40.1% less coastline

Palau has a total of 1,519 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 Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.

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