Eritrea vs Nicaragua
Nicaragua and Eritrea are almost exactly the same size.
EritreaNicaraguaEritrea moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
0.98×
Eritrea is 0.98× the area of Nicaragua. Put the other way, Nicaragua is 1.02× the size of Eritrea.
 Eritrea |  Nicaragua | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 | 120,340 km²#97 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNicaragua: 1.94× the population | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 | 7,007,502#108 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNicaragua: 1.9× the density | 31 / km²#150 of 194 | 58 / km²#127 of 194 |
| Urban populationNicaragua: 1.72× the urban share | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 59%#108 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEritrea: 1.67× the births per woman | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEritrea: 0.69 points higher | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 | +1.31%#76 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEritrea: 1.5× the birth rate | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 | 19.1 per 1,000#77 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEritrea: 1.3× the death rate | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 | 4.6 per 1,000#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Eritrea: 9.3 points higher | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 | 28.3%#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Nicaragua: 1.4 points higher | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 | 5.7%#115 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNicaragua: 0.7 per 1,000 higher | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 | −1.2 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 30.5× the refugees for its size | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 | 5.04 per 1,000#27 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNicaragua: 6.2 years longer | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 | 75.1 years#85 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEritrea: 2.63× the infant mortality | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 | 9.4 per 1,000 births#113 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNicaragua: 7.56× the doctors per person | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 | 0.68 per 1,000#120 of 178 · 2018 |
| University enrolment | — | 30.4%#102 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexNicaragua: 0.203 higher | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 | 0.706#122 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $2,850#136 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $22.24B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $9,284#130 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +4.9%#50 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEritrea: 1.2× the unemployment | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 | 5.0%#93 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in agricultureEritrea: 25.0 points higher | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 | 30.5% of jobs#59 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNicaragua: 4.2 points higher | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNicaragua: 20.8 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 52.6% of jobs#107 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 6.8% of GDP#26 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 41.6% of GDP#65 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 0.6% of GDP#139 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNicaragua: 4.29× the share online | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 | 61%#133 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsNicaragua: 1.8× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 | 106 per 100#122 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNicaragua: 2.15× the forest share | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 | 26% of land#107 of 192 · 2023 |
| CO₂ per personNicaragua: 3.77× the CO₂ per person | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 | 0.83 t a year#134 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEritrea: 30.3 points higher | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 | 50.4%#47 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNicaragua: 33.4 points higher | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 | 88.7%#142 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Eritrea: 1.65× the air pollution | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 | 20.4 µg/m³#77 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNicaragua: 21.2 points higher | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 | 21.2% of land#77 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNicaragua: 6.8 points higher | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 | 12.5% of land#82 of 190 · 2022 |
| Water stressEritrea: 5.09× the water stress | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNicaragua: 5.94× the rain and snow | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 | 2,280 mm#22 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNicaragua: 0.59 higher | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 | −0.01#105 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNicaragua: 0.23 higher | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 | −1.38#178 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 11.3 per 100,000#26 of 146 · 2021 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party stateauthoritarian | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Asmara | Managua |
| Currency | Nakfa (ERN) | Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO) |
| Official languages | English, Arabic, Tigrinya | Spanish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC−6 |
| Calling code | +291 | +505 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Central America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Eritrea sits at about 15° N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Nicaragua at 13° N is stretched to 1.05×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Eritrea bigger than Nicaragua?
- No. Eritrea and Nicaragua are almost exactly the same size. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
- How many times does Eritrea fit into Nicaragua?
- About 1.0 times: Nicaragua has 1.02× the area of Eritrea.
- Why do Eritrea and Nicaragua look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eritrea is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Nicaragua about 1.05×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Eritrea or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua: 7,007,502 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Eritrea or Nicaragua?
- In Nicaragua: life expectancy at birth is 75.1 years, against 68.9 — 6.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Eritrea and Nicaragua have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Eritrea: one-party state; Nicaragua: presidential republic.