Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Belize, you would:
Health
live 1.4 years longer
In Belize, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.
be 19.6% less likely to be obese
In Belize, 43.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.
see 20.1% more spent on your healthcare
Belize spends $573 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.
have 37.2% fewer doctors per person
Belize has 10.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2018. Nicaragua has 6.8 as of 2018.
Economy
be 43.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Belize, 8.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
be 52.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Belize, 52.0% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.
make 59.7% less money
Belize has a GDP per capita of $7,865 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
Life
be 13.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Belize, approximately 10.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, 9.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Belize, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 88% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 23.3% less likely to have internet access
In Belize, approximately 80.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 37.9% less on education
Belize spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 100.0% more on healthcare
Belize spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Belize has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 59.6% less likely to be murdered
Belize has a homicide rate of 28.1 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 11.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 22.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Belize, road accidents kill 17.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 40.7% less home broadband
Belize has 9.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.
live with 76.2% more strain on fresh water
Belize withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nicaragua withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 10.8% less CO2
Belize emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
be 81.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Belize, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Belize vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Belize? See an in-depth size comparison.