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 56.9% less money

Cuba has a GDP per capita of $12,300 as of 2016, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $5,300 as of 2020.

be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In Cuba, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Nicaragua, that number is 6.4% as of 2017.

Life

have 63.4% more children

In Cuba, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Nicaragua, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 5.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Cuba, approximately 36.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Nicaragua, 198.0 women do as of 2017.

be 17.2% less likely to be literate

In Cuba, the literacy rate is 99.8% as of 2015. 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 39.2% less likely to have internet access

In Cuba, approximately 74.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Nicaragua, about 45.0% do as of 2020.

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 73.4% less on education

Cuba spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2010. Nicaragua spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 25.7% less on healthcare

Cuba spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2019.

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

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