Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.5 years longer

In Venezuela, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 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 13.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Venezuela, 5.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 4.8% as of 2023.

be 24.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Venezuela, 33.1% live below the poverty line as of 2015. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.

pay a 11.8% lower top tax rate

Venezuela has a top tax rate of 34.0% as of 2016. In Nicaragua, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 69.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In Venezuela, approximately 259.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 15.3% less likely to be literate

In Venezuela, the literacy rate is 97.5% as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

Basic Needs

be 13.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Venezuela, 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 27.6% less likely to have internet access

In Venezuela, approximately 78.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 11.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Venezuela, approximately 94% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 83% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 3.5 times more on education

Venezuela spends 1.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2017. Nicaragua spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 2.3 times more on healthcare

Venezuela spends 3.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 67.5% less coastline

Venezuela has a total of 2,800 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, Ministerio del Poder Popular de Finanzas, SENIAT.

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 Venezuela? See an in-depth size comparison.

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