ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Nicaragua

Latin America & Caribbean. Lower middle income. Capital: Managua. Population 7,007,502 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
4,206 6,032 7,857 1995 2025 7,933
GDP growth (%)
−3.1 3.5 10.2 1995 2025 4.9
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
2.4 11.0 19.5 2000 2025 2.1
Life expectancy at birth (years)
64.3 69.6 74.9 1995 2024 75.1

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 7,933 2025 +1,410 +994 143 of 199
GDP growth% 4.9% 2025 +7.2 pp +0.1 pp 55 of 209
GDP per person growth% 3.6% 2025 +7.0 pp +0.2 pp 65 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 2,850 2025 +1,040 +940 152 of 201
Trade% of GDP 96.5% 2025 +7.8 pp −1.7 pp 67 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 6.8% 2025 +0.9 pp −0.8 pp 31 of 195

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 2.1% 2025 −1.6 pp −1.9 pp 120 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 5.0% 2025 −1.1 pp +0.3 pp 99 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 7,007,502 2025 +442,235 +858,085 108 of 217
Population growth% annual 1.3% 2025 +0.1 pp 0.0 pp 80 of 217
Urban population% of total 59.4% 2025 +0.7 pp +1.6 pp 128 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 75.1 2024 +1.3 +2.3 106 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 9.4 2024 −3.2 −6.6 116 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 8.3% 2023 −0.2 pp +0.7 pp 57 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 87.3% 2014 * – +9.3 pp –
Government spending on education% of GDP 2.9% 2023 −1.6 pp −1.2 pp 134 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 61.4% 2024 +22.4 pp +43.8 pp 137 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 88.7% 2024 +3.0 pp +6.8 pp 165 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 46.2 2014 * +2.3 −2.6 –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 6.6% 2014 * −7.3 pp −9.9 pp –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 50.4% 2021 +0.9 pp −2.9 pp 47 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 7,137 +2.3 6,095 23,315 343 +1.4% 16% 16%
GDP growth 2.8% +0.5 4.3% 3.2% 4.3 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.4% +0.5 2.7% 2.2% 4.3 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 2,075 +3.6 2,750 12,705 214 +4.1% 8% 7%
Trade 99.1% −0.3 69.0% 74.0% 7.8 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 6.8% 0.0 1.9% 2.5% 1.2 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 5.4% −1.5 3.6% 2.5% 2.3 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 4.9% +0.1 5.1% 6.0% 0.9 – – –
Population 6,526,247 +1.9 12,348,573 3,010,956 255,564 +1.3% 239% 234%
Population growth 1.3% 0.0 1.7% 0.5% 0.1 – – –
Urban population 58.6% +1.8 50.9% 72.0% 0.5 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 73.1 +1.4 67.9 75.7 1.4 – – –
Infant mortality 13.4 −3.1 28.7 12.0 1.3 – – –
Health spending 8.4% −0.2 4.5% 6.8% 0.6 – – –
Government spending on education 4.2% −5.0 4.0% 3.9% 0.3 – – –
Internet users 38.1% +1.5 57.9% 79.9% 15.6 – – –
Access to electricity 85.2% +1.9 88.7% 99.8% 1.8 – – –
Renewable energy 51.6% −0.7 42.5% 12.8% 1.9 – – –

Compare Nicaragua with other countries