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

Health

live 2.8 years less

In Iran, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 42.1% more likely to be obese

In Iran, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 35.3% less spent on your healthcare

Iran spends $1,064 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 39.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Iran, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 19.1% less money

Iran has a GDP per capita of $3,924 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 52.3% more children

In Iran, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 3.8 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iran, approximately 16.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nicaragua, 60.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 11.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Iran, 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.

View global rankings →

be 28.1% less likely to have internet access

In Iran, approximately 85.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 37.6% more on healthcare

Iran spends 6.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 62.7% less coastline

Iran has a total of 2,440 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 34.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Iran, road accidents kill 20.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 97.3% less strain on fresh water

Iran withdraws 81% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nicaragua withdraws 2% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

find 52.1% less home broadband

Iran has 12.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

use 83.2% less electricity

Iran uses 3,815 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Nicaragua uses 641 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 25.5% less likely to die from air pollution

In Iran, air pollution causes 51.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 90.8% less CO2

Iran emits 9.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

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.
Read more

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

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nicaragua or Iran. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.