Nicaragua vs United States
United States is 81.7 times larger than Nicaragua. Nicaragua would fit into United States about 82 times.
NicaraguaUnited StatesNicaragua moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.01×
Nicaragua is 0.01× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 81.7× the size of Nicaragua.
 Nicaragua |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 81.7× the area | 120,340 km²#97 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 48.8× the population | 7,007,502#108 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNicaragua: 1.67× the density | 58 / km²#127 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.35× the urban share | 59%#108 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNicaragua: 1.36× the births per woman | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNicaragua: 0.79 points higher | +1.31%#76 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNicaragua: 1.8× the birth rate | 19.1 per 1,000#77 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.96× the death rate | 4.6 per 1,000#179 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Nicaragua: 11.2 points higher | 28.3%#78 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 12.7 points higher | 5.7%#115 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 4.8 per 1,000 higher | −1.2 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNicaragua: 504× the refugees for its size | 5.04 per 1,000#27 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 3.8 years longer | 75.1 years#85 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNicaragua: 1.71× the infant mortality | 9.4 per 1,000 births#113 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 5.41× the doctors per person | 0.68 per 1,000#120 of 178 · 2018 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 2.61× the university enrolment | 30.4%#102 of 145 · 2023 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.232 higher | 0.706#122 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 31.2× the income per person | $2,850#136 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 1,384× the economy | $22.24B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 9.7× the output per person | $9,284#130 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthNicaragua: 2.7 points higher | +4.9%#50 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 0.8 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentNicaragua: 1.19× the unemployment | 5.0%#93 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureNicaragua: 29.0 points higher | 30.5% of jobs#59 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 2.0 points higher | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 27.0 points higher | 52.6% of jobs#107 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentNicaragua: 5.8 points higher | 6.8% of GDP#26 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsNicaragua: 30.6 points higher | 41.6% of GDP#65 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 5.57× the military spending | 0.6% of GDP#139 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 1.54× the share online | 61%#133 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 1.07× the mobile subscriptions | 106 per 100#122 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 1.31× the forest share | 26% of land#107 of 192 · 2023 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 16.4× the CO₂ per person | 0.83 t a year#134 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNicaragua: 39.5 points higher | 50.4%#47 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 11.3 points higher | 88.7%#142 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nicaragua: 2.91× the air pollution | 20.4 µg/m³#77 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNicaragua: 8.3 points higher | 21.2% of land#77 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 4.1 points higher | 12.5% of land#82 of 190 · 2022 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 12.8× the water stress | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNicaragua: 3.19× the rain and snow | 2,280 mm#22 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNicaragua: 0.29 higher | −0.01#105 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 2.25 higher | −1.38#178 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNicaragua: 1.95× the homicide rate | 11.3 per 100,000#26 of 146 · 2021 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Managua | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Spanish | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−6 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +505 | +1 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Northern 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. Nicaragua sits at about 13° N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Nicaragua. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Nicaragua bigger than United States?
- No. Nicaragua is 81.7 times smaller than United States. Nicaragua covers 120,340 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Nicaragua fit into United States?
- About 82 times: United States has 81.7× the area of Nicaragua.
- Why do Nicaragua and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nicaragua is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Nicaragua. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Nicaragua or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 7,007,502. Density: Nicaragua 58 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Nicaragua or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $2,850 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 31.2× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Nicaragua or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 75.1 — 3.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Nicaragua and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).