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

Health

live 12.8 years longer

In Liberia, the average life expectancy is 62 years (61 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 3.0 times more spent on your healthcare

Liberia spends $233 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.

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have 55.6% more access to essential health services

Liberia scores 45 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nicaragua scores 70 as of 2021.

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be 29.0% less likely to die by suicide

Liberia has a suicide rate of 6.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 96.3% more likely to be obese

In Liberia, 17.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 51.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Liberia, 50.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.

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make 3.5 times more money

Liberia has a GDP per capita of $915 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.

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be 75.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Liberia, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

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Life

be 90.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Liberia, approximately 628.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nicaragua, 60.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 71.0% more likely to be literate

In Liberia, the literacy rate is 48.3% as of 2017. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

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be 85.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Liberia, approximately 63.2 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.

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have 37.4% fewer children

In Liberia, there are approximately 30.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 2.7 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Liberia, approximately 32% of people have electricity access (53% in urban areas, and 9% 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.

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be 90.5% more likely to have internet access

In Liberia, approximately 32.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 36.2% less on healthcare

Liberia spends 13.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 26.4% more on education

Liberia spends 2.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 57.2% more coastline

Liberia has a total of 579 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

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Safety

be 11.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Liberia, road accidents kill 15.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 21.4 times more home broadband

Liberia has 0.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.

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live with 8.5 times more strain on fresh water

Liberia withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nicaragua withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 36.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In Liberia, air pollution causes 60.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.

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emit 5.5 times more CO2

Liberia emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2015–2017), World Health Organization (2024). 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.
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