Liberia vs Nicaragua
Nicaragua is 8% larger than Liberia.
LiberiaNicaraguaLiberia moved onto Nicaragua · Equal-area projection
0.93×
Liberia is 0.93× the area of Nicaragua. Put the other way, Nicaragua is 1.08× the size of Liberia.
 Liberia |  Nicaragua | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaNicaragua: 1.08× the area | 111,369 km²#102 of 194 | 120,340 km²#97 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNicaragua: 1.22× the population | 5,731,206#116 of 194 · 2025 | 7,007,502#108 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNicaragua: 1.13× the density | 51 / km²#133 of 194 | 58 / km²#127 of 194 |
| Urban populationNicaragua: 1.06× the urban share | 56%#117 of 192 · 2025 | 59%#108 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLiberia: 1.75× the births per woman | 3.86 per woman#29 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLiberia: 0.78 points higher | +2.09%#43 of 192 · 2025 | +1.31%#76 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLiberia: 1.6× the birth rate | 30.6 per 1,000#27 of 192 · 2024 | 19.1 per 1,000#77 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLiberia: 1.74× the death rate | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 | 4.6 per 1,000#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Liberia: 10.8 points higher | 39.1%#28 of 192 · 2025 | 28.3%#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Nicaragua: 2.4 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 5.7%#115 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNicaragua: 0.5 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | −1.2 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNicaragua: 5.66× the refugees for its size | 0.89 per 1,000#63 of 190 · 2025 | 5.04 per 1,000#27 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNicaragua: 12.8 years longer | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 | 75.1 years#85 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLiberia: 6.72× the infant mortality | 63.2 per 1,000 births#5 of 191 · 2024 | 9.4 per 1,000 births#113 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNicaragua: 3.78× the doctors per person | 0.18 per 1,000#153 of 178 · 2022 | 0.68 per 1,000#120 of 178 · 2018 |
| University enrolment | — | 30.4%#102 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexNicaragua: 0.196 higher | 0.510#174 of 190 · 2023 | 0.706#122 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNicaragua: 3.43× the income per person | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 | $2,850#136 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPNicaragua: 4.24× the economy | $5.25B2025 | $22.24B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Nicaragua: 4.69× the output per person | $1,981#177 of 184 · 2025 | $9,284#130 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLiberia: 0.1 points higher | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 | +4.9%#50 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationLiberia: 6.2 points higher | +8.3%#27 of 176 · 2025 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentNicaragua: 1.72× the unemployment | 2.9%#144 of 178 · 2025 | 5.0%#93 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 33.6%#27 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 35.3#70 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureLiberia: 10.6 points higher | 41.1% of jobs#39 of 178 · 2025 | 30.5% of jobs#59 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNicaragua: 8.6 points higher | 8.3% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesNicaragua: 2.1 points higher | 50.5% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | 52.6% of jobs#107 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLiberia: 2.7 points higher | 9.5% of GDP#20 of 184 · 2025 | 6.8% of GDP#26 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 41.6% of GDP#65 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingLiberia: 1.52× the military spending | 0.8% of GDP#125 of 155 · 2025 | 0.6% of GDP#139 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNicaragua: 1.91× the share online | 32%#163 of 184 · 2024 | 61%#133 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsNicaragua: 3.31× the mobile subscriptions | 32 per 100#189 of 191 · 2022 | 106 per 100#122 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLiberia: 2.56× the forest share | 66% of land#18 of 192 · 2024 | 26% of land#107 of 192 · 2023 |
| CO₂ per personNicaragua: 5.53× the CO₂ per person | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 | 0.83 t a year#134 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLiberia: 42.4 points higher | 92.8%#3 of 190 · 2022 | 50.4%#47 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNicaragua: 53.8 points higher | 34.9%#184 of 192 · 2024 | 88.7%#142 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nicaragua: 1.14× the air pollution | 17.9 µg/m³#98 of 191 · 2023 | 20.4 µg/m³#77 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNicaragua: 17.2 points higher | 4.0% of land#171 of 191 · 2025 | 21.2% of land#77 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNicaragua: 7.3 points higher | 5.2% of land#128 of 190 · 2024 | 12.5% of land#82 of 190 · 2022 |
| Water stressNicaragua: 7.33× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLiberia: 1.05× the rain and snow | 2,391 mm#15 of 180 · 2022 | 2,280 mm#22 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNicaragua: 0.13 higher | −0.14#113 of 193 · 2025 | −0.01#105 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionLiberia: 0.42 higher | −0.96#152 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 | Presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Monrovia | Managua |
| Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO) |
| Official languages | English | Spanish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC−6 |
| Calling code | +231 | +505 |
| Region | Western 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. Liberia sits at about 6° N and is stretched to 1.01× 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 Liberia bigger than Nicaragua?
- No. Liberia is 7% smaller than Nicaragua. Liberia covers 111,369 km² and Nicaragua covers 120,340 km².
- How many times does Liberia fit into Nicaragua?
- About 1.1 times: Nicaragua has 1.08× the area of Liberia.
- Why do Liberia and Nicaragua look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Liberia is drawn about 1.01× 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, Liberia or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua: 7,007,502 people against 5,731,206. Density: Liberia 51 per km², Nicaragua 58 per km².
- Which is richer, Liberia or Nicaragua?
- By gross national income per person, Nicaragua: $2,850 against $830 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.43× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Liberia or Nicaragua?
- In Nicaragua: life expectancy at birth is 75.1 years, against 62.3 — 12.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Liberia and Nicaragua have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).