Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Palau, you would:
Health
live 5.7 years longer
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.
be 13.8% less likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.
see 62.9% less spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.
Economy
make 83.8% less money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
Life
be 32.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Palau, approximately 89.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nicaragua, 60.0 women do as of 2023.
be 49.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 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.
have 79.0% more children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Palau, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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.
be 26.8% less likely to have internet access
In Palau, approximately 83.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.6% less on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 23.5% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 40.1% less coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 38.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 21.1% less home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 99.0% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.