Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
live 3.3 years longer
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 45.7% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.
see 45.1% more spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.
have 21.6% more doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Nicaragua has 6.8 as of 2018.
have 27.3% more access to essential health services
Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nicaragua scores 70 as of 2021.
be 64.7% less likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 13.7% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Samoa, 21.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.
make 46.0% less money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
Life
be 40.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Samoa, approximately 101.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nicaragua, 60.0 women do as of 2023.
be 23.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Samoa, approximately 12.3 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 23.3% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 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 Samoa, 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 18.4% less likely to have internet access
In Samoa, approximately 75.3% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 47.4% less on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 22.4% more on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.3 times more coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 81.3% more likely to be murdered
Samoa has a homicide rate of 6.3 per 100,000 people as of 2018. In Nicaragua, that number is 11.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 41.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 6.6 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 48.1% less CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
be 11.8% more likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.