Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Tonga, you would:
Health
live 2.0 years longer
In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 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 52.7% less likely to be obese
In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.
see 34.5% more spent on your healthcare
Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.
have 22.8% more access to essential health services
Tonga scores 57 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nicaragua scores 70 as of 2021.
be 10.4% less likely to die by suicide
Tonga has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
have 32.7% fewer doctors per person
Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Nicaragua has 6.8 as of 2018.
Economy
be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Tonga, 2.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
make 51.5% less money
Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
Life
be 20.5% more likely to die during infancy
In Tonga, approximately 7.8 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 16.9% fewer children
In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 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 Tonga, 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.
Expenditures
spend 46.0% less on education
Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Nicaragua spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 12.8% more on healthcare
Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.2 times more coastline
Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 11.9 times more likely to be murdered
Tonga has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, that number is 11.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 60.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Tonga, road accidents kill 8.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nicaragua, they kill 13.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 29.3% less home broadband
Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 49.1% less CO2
Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
be 58.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Tonga vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Tonga? See an in-depth size comparison.