Nicaragua vs. Brazil

Latin American Statistics

Income InequalityTo understand the full ramifications of poverty in a certain country is not enough to know that country’s per capita income. How equally—or unequally—income is distributed determines number of poor people in a country and the average quality of life in that country.

Lorenze Curve Measures how much the distribution of wealth or income deviates from a condition of equality.

The larger the curve is the more unequal the distribution of income or wealth is.

The curve is determined dividing the population into 5 groups from poorest 20% to wealthiest 20% and determining how much of the gross national product each group receives

Gini Index Devised by the Italian sociologist Corrado Gini

Numerical indicator of the degree of inequality

A large Gini Index number indicates a great degree of inequality in income and wealth.

Gives a numerical valueto the distance between thestraight diagonal of perfect equality andthe curve of inequality ina certainpopulation

Finding Income Distribution & Gini Index Statistics

The World Bank calculates income distribution figures and the Gini Index for each country.

These statistics are most easy accessible, however, through the USAID website.

Income Distribution

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Nicaragua Brazil

Poorest 20%Second 20%Third 20%Fourth 20%Richest 20%

The different between the rich and the poor is much greater in Brazil than in Nicaragua.

% of Gross

Domestic Product (GDP)

Gini Index Numbers

0

20

40

60

80

100 Nicaragua

Brazil

Perfect Equality

Nicaragua 43.11 Brazil 59.25

43.11

59.25

Gini Index:Income Inequality

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Nicaragua Brazil

Gini Index

Poverty

Nicaragua

Brazil

People Living on Lessthan $2 US per day

People Living on Morethan $2 US per day

Statistics from the Population Data Sheet /Population Reference Bureau

Although Nicaragua has a more equitable distribution of wealth than Brazil, it is a much poorer country with 80% of its population living on less than $2 per day.

Population Growth

0 100 200 300

Projected PopulationChange 2005-2050(%)

Projected Population2050

Deaths per 1000Population

Births per 1000Population

Population Mid-2005(millions)

Brazil

Nicaragua

Although Brazil has a much greater population, Nicaragua’s population is growing at a much faster rate and will nearly double by the year 2050.

Statistics from the Population Data Sheet /Population Reference Bureau.

Literacy Rates

Nicaragua

Brazil

Literate Adults

Illiterate Adults

In both Brazil and Nicaragua more than ¾ of adults can read and write. Brazil has a sight advantage: 88% literacy rate to Nicaragua’s 76%.

Statistics from USAID

Health Care

012345678

Physicans Per1000

Hospital Bedsper 1000

HealthcareExpenditures(% of GNP)

NicaraguaBrazil

Although Nicaragua and Brazil spent the exact same percent of their gross national product on healthcare, Brazil has more than double the number of hospital beds and nearly triple the number of physicians for every 1000 people.

Statistics

from USAID

Websites Used“Lorenz curve". The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology (2000). Retrieved 13 February 2006, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/724034

Population Data Sheet /Population Reference Bureau http://www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=PRB&template=/Content/ContentGroups/Datasheets/2005_World_Population_Data_Sheet.htm

USAID Development Statistics for Latin America and Caribbean http://qesdb.cdie.org/lac/index.html

World Bank: Latin American and Caribbean http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,menuPK:258559%7EpagePK:158889%7EpiPK:146815%7EtheSitePK:258554,00.html

World Bank: Beyond Economic Growth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/beyond/global/