Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Hong Kong, you would:
Health
live 10.3 years less
In Hong Kong, the average life expectancy is 85 years (83 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 80.0% more likely to be unemployed
In Hong Kong, 2.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
be 25.1% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Hong Kong, 19.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.
make 94.4% less money
Hong Kong has a GDP per capita of $56,983 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.9 times more children
In Hong Kong, there are approximately 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In Hong Kong, approximately 2.5 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, 9.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Hong Kong, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 35.9% less likely to have internet access
In Hong Kong, approximately 95.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 24.7% less on education
Hong Kong spends 3.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 24.1% more coastline
Hong Kong has a total of 733 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 29.9 times more likely to be murdered
Hong Kong has a homicide rate of 0.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 11.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 85.6% less home broadband
Hong Kong has 40.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.
use 89.9% less electricity
Hong Kong uses 6,359 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Nicaragua uses 641 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 82.0% less CO2
Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), The World Factbook (2016–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Hong Kong vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Hong Kong? See an in-depth size comparison.