Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Madagascar instead of Nicaragua, you would:
Health
be 87.1% less likely to be obese
In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Madagascar, that number is 4.5% of people as of 2024.
live 11.3 years less
In Nicaragua, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Madagascar, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
see 90.9% less spent on your healthcare
Nicaragua spends $689 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Madagascar spends $63 as of 2023.
have 50.0% less access to essential health services
Nicaragua scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Madagascar scores 35 as of 2021.
be 43.6% more likely to die by suicide
Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Madagascar, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Nicaragua, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Madagascar, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.
make 81.1% less money
Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Madagascar, the GDP per capita is $599 as of 2025.
Life
have 65.7% more children
In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Madagascar, there are 31.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 7.4 times more 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 Madagascar, 445.0 women do as of 2023.
be 4.6 times more 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 Madagascar, on the other hand, 43.0 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 55.4% less 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 Madagascar, that number is 39% of people on average (76% in urban areas, and 15% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 69.6% less likely to have internet access
In Nicaragua, approximately 61.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Madagascar, about 18.7% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 58.7% less on healthcare
Nicaragua spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Madagascar, that number is 3.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 5.3 times more coastline
Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Madagascar, that number is 4,828 km.
Safety
be 65.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Madagascar, they kill 22.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 97.9% less home broadband
Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Madagascar has 0.1 as of 2023.
live with 5.1 times more strain on fresh water
Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Madagascar withdraws 11% as of 2022.
use 87.5% less electricity
Nicaragua uses 641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Madagascar uses 80 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 81.9% less CO2
Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Madagascar emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 52.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Madagascar, it causes 58.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Nicaragua vs. Madagascar
Madagascar: At a glance
How big is Madagascar compared to Nicaragua? See an in-depth size comparison.