Share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.2% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua, 1994–2023
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua stood at 0.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 23.5% on the previous year and up 132.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua peaked at 0.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1994.
That places Nicaragua 50th out of 162 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.0% | +3481.8% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | -7.7% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | -86.5% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | +265.0% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +179.7% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | -22.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | +19.4% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | +45.9% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | +47.4% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | +11.8% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | +13.1% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | +6.8% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +35.8% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | +29.8% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | +22.9% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -3.5% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | +13.1% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | -23.5% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 0.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 6.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 0.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.0%, 5.8× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +3481.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2005 | +265.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More environment data for Nicaragua
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 4.53 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Standard Deviation 0.243 °C (2024)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.04 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.0474 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Nicaragua was 0.2% in 2023, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1994.
- How does Nicaragua rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Nicaragua ranks 50th out of 162 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 132.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.