Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 4.9 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 55.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2022.

make 73.8% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $5,800 as of 2022.

pay a 100.0% higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Nicaragua, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 51.9% more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 16.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 15.7% less likely to be literate

In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, 19.1 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 13.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, 86% of the population do as of 2021.

be 31.3% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 16.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 83% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 31.3% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Nicaragua spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 29.5% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: General Directorate of Revenues, The World Factbook, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Nicaragua: At a glance

Nicaragua is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 119,990 sq km. The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential elections, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
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How big is Nicaragua compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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