Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.7 years less

In Ecuador, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

be 19.1% more likely to be obese

In Ecuador, 19.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Nicaragua, that number is 23.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 14.3% lower top tax rate

Ecuador has a top tax rate of 35.0% as of 2016. In Nicaragua, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

make 48.5% less money

Ecuador has a GDP per capita of $10,300 as of 2020, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $5,300 as of 2020.

be 12.1% more likely to be unemployed

In Ecuador, 5.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Nicaragua, that number is 6.4% as of 2017.

Life

be 3.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Ecuador, approximately 59.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Nicaragua, 198.0 women do as of 2017.

be 11.8% less likely to be literate

In Ecuador, the literacy rate is 93.6% as of 2020. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

Basic Needs

be 30.8% less likely to have internet access

In Ecuador, approximately 65.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Nicaragua, about 45.0% do as of 2020.

be 12.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Ecuador, approximately 95% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 87% 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 17.1% less on education

Ecuador spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Nicaragua spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

Geography

see 59.3% less coastline

Ecuador has a total of 2,237 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, Servicio de Rentas Internas del Ecuador.

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 Ecuador? See an in-depth size comparison.

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