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

Health

live 1.5 years longer

In Nicaragua, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 77 years (72 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 53.1% less likely to be obese

In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 16.4% of people as of 2024.

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see 54.9% more spent on your healthcare

Nicaragua spends $689 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Thailand spends $1,067 as of 2023.

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have 17.1% more access to essential health services

Nicaragua scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Thailand scores 82 as of 2021.

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have 20.7% fewer doctors per person

Nicaragua has 6.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2018. Thailand has 5.4 as of 2021.

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be 3.9 times more likely to die by suicide

Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Thailand, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 84.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Nicaragua, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Thailand, that number is 0.8% as of 2025.

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make 2.5 times more money

Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $8,057 as of 2025.

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Life

be 43.3% 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 Thailand, 34.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 18.1% 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 Thailand, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.

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have 57.6% fewer children

In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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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 Thailand, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 48.0% more likely to have internet access

In Nicaragua, approximately 61.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Thailand, about 90.9% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 12.2% less on education

Nicaragua spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Thailand spends 2.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 45.3% less on healthcare

Nicaragua spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Thailand, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 3.5 times more coastline

Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.

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Safety

be 86.8% more likely to die in a road accident

In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Thailand, they kill 25.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 2.6 times more home broadband

Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Thailand has 14.9 as of 2024.

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use 4.6 times more electricity

Nicaragua uses 641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Thailand uses 2,965 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 10.4 times more strain on fresh water

Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Thailand withdraws 23% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 23.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Thailand, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.

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emit 4.8 times more CO2

Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Thailand emits 4.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Thailand: At a glance

Thailand is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 510,890 sq km. A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the United States in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. A blanket amnesty bill for individuals involved in street protests, altered at the last minute to include all political crimes - including all convictions against THAKSIN - triggered months of large-scale anti-government protests in Bangkok beginning in November 2013. In early May 2014 YINGLAK was removed from office and in late May 2014 the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the caretaker government. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in Thailand's southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in the insurgency.
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