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Nicaragua · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / Nicaragua
2025
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Nicaragua

Latin America & Caribbean Capital Managua Lower middle income Nation age 205 years (since 1821) i NIC · NI
NationsTree Index 2025 i42.8117th of 196 Tree height 2025 i4.6 msee ranking Military strength i19percentile
Population i7.0 m108th of 217 Area i130,370 km²98th of 216 GDP i$22.24 bn129th of 210 GDP (PPP) i$65.06 bn intl.122nd of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$9,284 intl.143rd of 199 Life expectancy i75.1 years106th of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i24
Strength · trunk i37
Quality of life · crown i46
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i43
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i93
CSV

In short

Nicaragua is 117th of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 42.8 out of 100; its tree is 4.6 m tall.

It has 7.0 million people and an economy of $65.06 bn at purchasing power parity, 122nd of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: Government budget balance (13th of 192), Renewable freshwater per person (28th of 183) and Renewable energy (47th of 212).

Its weakest positions: Voice & accountability (197th of 205), Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) (154th of 164) and Rule of law (194th of 207).

Over five years it climbed from 157th to 117th in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

49
Surface area ikm² 130,370 98th/216
Land area ikm² 120,340 99th/216
Population ipeople 7.0 m 108th/217
Population growth i% 1.31% 80th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 56.7 148th/216
Urban population i% 59.4% 128th/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 28.3% 80th/217
Population aged 65+ i% 5.7% 141st/217

Economy

51
GDP iUSD $22.24 bn 129th/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $65.06 bn 122nd/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $55.59 bn 121st/199
GDP per person iUSD $3,173 157th/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $9,284 143rd/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $2,850 152nd/201
GDP growth i% 4.9% 55th/210
Inflation i% 2.1% 61st/180
Unemployment i% 5.0% 88th/187
General government gross debt i% of GDP 34.6% 46th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP 3.5% 13th/192

Main industries

56
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 14.5% 55th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 29.3% 56th/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 12.6% 71st/192
Services i% of GDP 45.2% 168th/200

Trade

53
Exports of goods & services iUSD $9.25 bn 113th/182
Imports of goods & services iUSD $12.20 bn 114th/182
Exports i% of GDP 41.6% 74th/183
Imports i% of GDP 54.9% 63rd/183
Trade openness i% of GDP 96.4% 67th/183
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 0.7% 124th/170
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 37.0% 81st/171
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 42.6% 37th/171
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 1.1% 131st/171
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 0.6% 153rd/168
Current account balance i% of GDP 9.5% 21st/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP 6.8% 31st/196

Natural resources

67
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 3.8% 82nd/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.02% 96th/197
Natural gas rents i% of GDP 0.00% 100th/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 0.00% 68th/195
Mineral rents i% of GDP 2.68% 33rd/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 1.14% 49th/209
Arable land i% of land area 12.5% 84th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 23,209 28th/183

Tourism

27
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 474,000 127th/194
Tourism receipts iUSD $128.0 m1999
Tourism receipts i% of exports 15.2%1999
Outbound trips idepartures 325,000 86th/107

Society & health

40
Life expectancy iyears 75.1 106th/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 11.2 81st/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 0.682018
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 1.0 121st/145
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 89% 110th/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 35.5%2014
Secondary enrolment i% gross 70.2% 140th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 68.2%2014
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 8.6% 140th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 8.3% 57th/193
Adult literacy i% 87.3%2014
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 30.4% 106th/150
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.706 123rd/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 46.22014
Extreme poverty i% of population 6.6%2014

Infrastructure & digital

26
Access to electricity i% of population 88.7% 165th/215
Internet users i% of population 61.4% 137th/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 106 131st/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 5.8 136th/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 1.90 154th/164
Air passengers carried ipassengers 61,0312000

Environment & energy

52
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 0.83 58th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 50.4% 47th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 20.4 123rd/200
Forest area i% of land area 25.8% 117th/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 613 112th/149

Institutions & safety

15
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 34.0 176th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 20.2 192nd/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 32.5 194th/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 65.4 117th/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 39.3 175th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 25.4 197th/205
Homicide rate iper 100,000 11.3 119th/145

Military

16
Military expenditure iUSD $116.4 m 137th/156
Military expenditure i% of GDP 0.6% 140th/156
Military expenditure i% of government spending 2.0% 142nd/154
Armed forces personnel ipeople 12,000 124th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 0.41% 128th/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 13.0 m2019
Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 18.0 m1993

Science & innovation

20
R&D spending i% of GDP 0.11%2015
Patent applications by residents iapplications 12014
Scientific articles iarticles 41 158th/197

Compare Nicaragua with

El SalvadorGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaTrinidad and Tobago

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Nicaragua — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/nicaragua. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Nicaragua — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/nicaragua. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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