Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.8 years less

In Panama, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 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

be 28.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Panama, 6.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 4.8% as of 2023.

make 79.6% less money

Panama has a GDP per capita of $35,800 as of 2023, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $7,300 as of 2023.

be 15.8% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Panama, 21.5% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.

pay a 20.0% higher top tax rate

Panama has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Nicaragua, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 56.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Panama, approximately 50.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 13.7% less likely to be literate

In Panama, the literacy rate is 95.7% as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

be 16.1% more likely to die during infancy

In Panama, approximately 16.4 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 16.2% less likely to have internet access

In Panama, approximately 68.0% 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 improved drinking water

In Panama, approximately 96% 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.

Expenditures

spend 11.3% less on healthcare

Panama spends 9.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 17.9% more on education

Panama spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Nicaragua spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 63.5% less coastline

Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: General Directorate of Revenues, The World Factbook, General Directorate of Revenues, Panama.

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 Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.

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