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Economy of Nicaragua vs Vatican compared: GDP & Debt

Updated on by Georank team

Nicaragua has a GDP of $19.7B compared to $19.8M for the Vatican, ranking 131/197 and 197/197 by economy size, respectively.

Nicaragua vs Vatican GDP by year

Nicaragua
Vatican
1x
Year GDP, current $
Nicaragua Vatican
2024 $19,693,982,968 -
2023 $17,805,842,284 -
2022 $15,634,572,502 -
2021 $14,209,020,362 -
2020 $12,726,422,432 -
2019 $12,699,023,614 -
2018 $13,025,221,974 -
2017 $13,785,893,007 -
2016 $13,286,093,388 -
2015 $12,756,696,261 -
2014 $11,880,438,824 -
2013 $10,982,988,249 -
2012 $10,532,017,232 -
2011 $9,774,329,333 -
2010 $8,758,602,233 -
2009 $8,298,702,489 -
2008 $8,496,967,597 -
2007 $7,423,375,015 -
2006 $6,763,672,381 -
2005 $6,321,324,279 -
2004 $5,792,932,838 -
2003 $5,322,228,351 -
2002 $5,223,727,303 -
2001 $5,351,752,034 -
2000 $5,109,587,050 -
1999 $4,856,026,259 -
1998 $4,635,347,386 -
1997 $4,389,973,490 -
1996 $4,308,351,903 -
1995 $4,140,470,000 -
1994 $3,863,185,119 -
1993 $1,756,454,248 -
1992 $1,792,800,000 -
1991 $1,488,804,124 -
1990 $1,009,455,484 -
1989 $1,013,184,756 -
1988 $2,630,900,096 -
1987 $3,851,200,118 -
1986 $2,885,799,994 -
1985 $2,683,699,935 -
1984 $3,117,599,872 -
1983 $2,753,100,058 -
1982 $2,454,499,872 -
1981 $2,474,700,227 -
1980 $2,144,300,006 -
1979 $1,567,599,982 -
1978 $2,127,699,979 -
1977 $2,226,999,874 -
1976 $1,836,899,999 -
1975 $1,581,599,959 -
1974 $1,521,400,012 -
1973 $1,092,900,015 -
1972 $878,570,045 -
1971 $828,569,953 -
1970 $778,569,939 -
1969 $750,000,003 -
1968 $692,859,985 -
1967 $657,140,011 -
1966 $607,140,010 -
1965 $564,290,020 -
1964 $347,119,918 -
1963 $297,324,163 -
1962 $269,283,804 -
1961 $244,144,237 -
1960 $227,223,322 -

Data sources: World Bank | Economy & Growth (1960–2024, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/economy/nicaragua/vatican | CC BY

Economic indicators

Nicaragua Vatican
Gross domestic product
$19.7B
2024
$19.8M
2025
GDP rank
131/197
2024
197/197
2025
GDP growth
3.59%
2023-2024
n/a
GDP per capita
$2,848
2024
$19,800
2025
GDP per capita rank
141/197
2024
59/197
2025
GDP per capita, PPP
$8,709
2024
$39,191
2025
GDP per capita PPP rank
138/197
2024
59/197
2025
Government debt
$7.71B
2024
n/a
Debt-to-GDP ratio
39.1%
2024
n/a
Government debt per person
$1,115
2024
n/a
Government debt per person rank
138/185
2024
n/a
Average annual personal income after taxes
$2,318
2026
$18,169
2026
Income share by richest 10%
37.2%
2014
n/a
Income share by poorest 10%
2%
2014
n/a
Government expenditure, % of GDP
27.1%
2024
n/a
Consumer prices inflation
4.6%
2023-2024
n/a
Central bank interest rate
6%
2025
n/a
Unemployment rate
5.2%
2018
n/a
Population
7124343
936

Balance of trade

Nicaragua Vatican
Current account balance
$818M
2024
n/a
Current account balance ranking
55/190
2024
n/a
Current account balance, % of GDP
+4.15%
2024
n/a
Goods imports
$10.1B
2024
n/a
Goods exports
$6.84B
2024
n/a
Service imports
$1.31B
2024
n/a
Service exports
$1.3B
2024
n/a
Imports of goods and services, % of GDP
58.1%
2024
n/a
Exports of goods and services, % of GDP
40.5%
2024
n/a

Economic freedom indices

The indices of economic freedom below are issued by the Heritage Foundation. Higher scores indicate stronger economic health.

Nicaragua Vatican
Economic freedom 53.6 65
Economic freedom ranking 139/197 69/197
Property rights 23.8 n/a
Government integrity 13.4 n/a
Judicial effectiveness 8.8 n/a
Tax burden 74.5 n/a
Government spending 77.7 n/a
Fiscal health 96.9 n/a
Business freedom 54.4 n/a
Labor freedom 47.3 n/a
Monetary freedom 69.4 n/a
Trade freedom 67 n/a
Investment freedom 60 n/a
Financial freedom 50 n/a

Other economic metrics

Nicaragua Vatican
Services, % of GDP
46.8%
2024
n/a
Industry, % of GDP
27.6%
2024
n/a
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, % of GDP
14.4%
2024
n/a
GNI, Atlas method
$17.4B
2024
n/a
GNI per capita, PPP
$8,270
2024
n/a
Total reserves including gold
$6.1B
2024
n/a
Total reserves ranking
91/177
2024
n/a
Net foreign direct investment
-$1.28B
2024
n/a
Net inflows of foreign direct investment
$1.35B
2024
n/a
Net outflows of foreign direct investment
$73.8M
2024
n/a
Servicing debt to the IMF, % of GNI
9.74%
2024
n/a
Poverty at national poverty lines
24.9%
2016
n/a
Gross capital formation, % of GDP
24.7%
2024
n/a

GDP per capita map

1x

Data sources: World Bank | Economy & Growth (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-04-06); U.S. Census Bureau (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-02-08).

GeoRank.org/economy/nicaragua/vatican | CC BY

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Economy & Growth (1960–2024, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. The Heritage Foundation | Economic Freedom Index (2026, retrieved 2026-03-09)
  4. International Monetary Fund (IMF) | Fiscal Monitor (2024, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  5. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2019–2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  6. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)
  7. LivingCost (2026, retrieved 2025-10-14)

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.

The current account balance is the sum of net trade in goods and services, net earnings from cross-border investments, and net transfer payments. It reflects a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world and is a fundamental component of the balance of payments. A surplus indicates that a country exports more than it imports, while a deficit shows the opposite.

Gross National Income (GNI) measures a country's total income. It encompasses income earned by residents, businesses, and foreign sources, defined as employee compensation and investment profits. GNI adds product taxes not included elsewhere and subtracts subsidies. It accounts for income from residents working abroad but excludes earnings from foreigners within the country.

A negative value for Net Foreign Direct Investment indicates a country is a net receiver of investments, as foreign inflows exceed outflows after Balance of Payments adjustments. A positive value indicates a net provider, with outflows exceeding inflows. Inflows are credits (increasing foreign claims on domestic assets), while outflows are debits (increasing domestic assets abroad).

Foreign direct investment (FDI, net inflows) shows how much capital foreign investors bring into a country after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of overseas companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in the reporting country. A positive number means more capital entered the country than was withdrawn, while a negative number means foreign investors pulled out more than they invested.

Foreign direct investment (FDI, net outflows) shows how much capital residents of a country invest abroad after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of domestic companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in other countries. A positive number means more capital was invested abroad than withdrawn, while a negative number means residents pulled back more than they invested.

Principal and interest payments to the IMF in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt expressed as a share of GNI.

Formerly gross domestic investment, gross capital formation measures the share of a country’s economic output invested in fixed assets, including buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. It indicates how much of the economy is devoted to building productive capacity.