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

Health

live 4.2 years longer

In Nicaragua, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Estonia, that number is 79 years (75 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 41.8% less likely to be obese

In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Estonia, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 5.4 times more spent on your healthcare

Nicaragua spends $689 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Estonia spends $3,741 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 12.9% more access to essential health services

Nicaragua scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Estonia scores 79 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide

Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Estonia, it is 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 10.8 times more money

Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $34,418 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 64.9% more likely to be unemployed

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

View global rankings →

Life

be 91.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Nicaragua, approximately 60.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Estonia, 5.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 84.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Nicaragua, approximately 9.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Estonia, on the other hand, 1.5 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 62.9% fewer children

In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Estonia, there are 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 13.3% more likely to have access to electricity

In Nicaragua, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Estonia, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 50.2% more likely to have internet access

In Nicaragua, approximately 61.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Estonia, about 92.2% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 81.5% more on education

Nicaragua spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Estonia spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 4.2 times more coastline

Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Estonia, that number is 3,794 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 86.4% less likely to be murdered

Nicaragua has a homicide rate of 11.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Estonia, that number is 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 67.6% less likely to die in a road accident

In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Estonia, they kill 4.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 6.1 times more home broadband

Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Estonia has 35.4 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

use 8.3 times more electricity

Nicaragua uses 641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Estonia uses 5,298 kWh as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 5.9 times more strain on fresh water

Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Estonia withdraws 13% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 65.8% less likely to die from air pollution

In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Estonia, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 9.3 times more CO2

Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Estonia emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


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

Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
Read more

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

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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