Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 6.3 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua stood at 6.3.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua peaked at 6.33 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.12, in 2011.
That places Nicaragua 51st out of 157 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5.12 | — |
| 2012 | 5.51 | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 5.83 | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 5.99 | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 6.07 | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 6.14 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 6.11 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 6.14 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 5.97 | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 6.17 | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 6.26 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 6.28 | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 6.33 | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 6.3 | -0.5% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 6.3 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.63, 1.4× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 6.3 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6.3, 100% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.86 | 5.12 | 6.14 | 8 |
| 2020s | 6.22 | 5.97 | 6.33 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More social development data for Nicaragua
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 311 (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Nicaragua was 6.3 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 6.33 in 2024.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.12 in 2011.
- How does Nicaragua rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- Nicaragua ranks 51st out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is happiness vs. life satisfaction rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Happiness vs. life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.