8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Latin America and the Caribbean / Central America

Born in Nicaragua

About 1 in 999 people born in 2023 started life in Nicaragua. A boy can expect to live 72 years and a girl 77, up from 39 and 42 in 1950.

1 in 999
odds of being born here
132,200 births · Ranked 100th of 230
72 / 77
years of life, boys / girls
Was 39 / 42 in 1950
$5,264
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 116th of 203 · extrapolated
59%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 34 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 267 in every 1,000 births to 15.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth72.3 years for boys, 77.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 514.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year31,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.7World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles85%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year44 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year1 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.2.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.22UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth26.0 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 52 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2014
5%Poorest fifth
9%Second
14%Middle
20%Fourth
52%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $5,264 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth52% / 5% (2014)World Bank PIP
Unemployment4.7% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises8.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming31% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed44% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment70% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Managua, with 973,087 people.

59%
live in cities
88%
have electricity at home
Largest cities
People living there
Managua973,087
León144,538
Masaya130,113
Chinandega126,387
Matagalpa109,089
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Spanish78%
Spanish is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Managua Department1.2 million
Chinandega Department247,596
León Department194,289
Masaya Department151,565
Matagalpa Department126,107
South Caribbean Coast117,758
Granada Department110,219
Estelí Department96,422
Carazo Department87,862
Nueva Segovia Department57,965

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 16 regions
  • Managua Department1.2 million
  • Chinandega Department247,596
  • León Department194,289
  • Masaya Department151,565
  • Matagalpa Department126,107
  • South Caribbean Coast117,758
  • Granada Department110,219
  • Estelí Department96,422
  • Carazo Department87,862
  • Nueva Segovia Department57,965
  • Jinotega Department55,000
  • Chontales Department50,000
  • North Caribbean Coast49,691
  • Boaco Department45,699
  • Rivas Department30,000
  • Madriz Department20,316

People on the move

About 13% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Costa Rica, United States, Spain.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Costa Rica423,401
United States295,024
Spain98,452
Residents born abroad0.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 13.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostCosta Rica (423,401), United States (295,024), Spain (98,452)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $5.2 billion a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

35% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

35%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024245Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19504; the deadliest, in 1972, killed about 10,000 people (magnitude 6.2)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19808NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence565 between 1989 and 1990UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Nicaragua, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Nicaragua

Elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences