Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vietnam instead of Nicaragua, you would:
Health
be 93.1% less likely to be obese
In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vietnam, that number is 2.4% of people as of 2024.
have 62.3% more doctors per person
Nicaragua has 6.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2018. Vietnam has 11.1 as of 2021.
be 72.2% more likely to die by suicide
Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vietnam, it is 7.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 69.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Nicaragua, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Vietnam, that number is 1.5% as of 2025.
make 59.6% more money
Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Vietnam, the GDP per capita is $5,066 as of 2025.
Life
be 20.0% 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 Vietnam, 48.0 women do as of 2023.
be 27.7% 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 Vietnam, on the other hand, 12.0 children do as of 2024.
have 29.9% fewer children
In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vietnam, there are 13.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 13.0% 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 Vietnam, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 37.1% more likely to have internet access
In Nicaragua, approximately 61.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Vietnam, about 84.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 45.1% less on healthcare
Nicaragua spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vietnam, that number is 4.6% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.8 times more coastline
Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Vietnam, that number is 3,444 km.
Safety
be 30.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vietnam, they kill 17.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 4.1 times more home broadband
Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Vietnam has 23.7 as of 2024.
use 4.0 times more electricity
Nicaragua uses 641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Vietnam uses 2,585 kWh as of 2023.
live with 8.2 times more strain on fresh water
Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Vietnam withdraws 18% as of 2022.
Environment
be 36.8% more likely to die from air pollution
In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Vietnam, it causes 52.0 as of 2019.
emit 5.1 times more CO2
Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vietnam emits 4.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Nicaragua vs. Vietnam
Vietnam: At a glance
How big is Vietnam compared to Nicaragua? See an in-depth size comparison.