More than 84% of Nicaraguans say their income doesn't cover basic expenses
A citizen survey in Nicaragua indicates most respondents struggle to pay for food and household needs, with meat leading complaints about rising prices.
Key points
- % of those surveyed say they have difficulty covering basic food and household expenses.
- % say their income does not cover those costs, and 31.8% say it covers them only partially.
- Meat (80.5%), eggs (70.9%) and cooking oil (63.6%) are the products most often cited as more expensive.
- % say they cannot afford the basic food basket.
Hagamos Democracia (NIC-CR) released its 16th Citizen Survey for September 2026, in which 84.3% of Nicaraguans surveyed said they have difficulty covering basic food and household expenses.
Of the 400 participants, 210 people, or 52.5%, said their income is not enough for those costs. Another 127, or 31.8%, said they cover them only partially. According to the report, partial coverage means restrictions on everyday needs, so it is not considered a resolved economic situation. Only 63 participants, or 15.8%, said their income is enough.
Perceptions of rising prices are also high. 56% of the sample, 224 people, believe prices rose sharply over the last three months. Asked which products have become more expensive, 301 of the 374 people who answered mentioned meat, followed by eggs, with 265 mentions, and cooking oil, with 238. The report also mentions cheese, beans, rice, medicines and hygiene products such as soap and detergent. Because respondents could choose several answers, the percentages do not add up to 100% and reflect perceptions, not market price records.
On the basic food basket, 180 people, or 45.7% of the 394 valid responses, said they cannot afford it. The report clarifies that the survey is descriptive and non-probabilistic, so its results cannot be extrapolated to the whole population, although they reflect the views of respondents across 40 territorial units of the country.
Why it matters
Although the survey is not representative of the whole country, it reflects the cost-of-living pressure that, according to the survey, Nicaraguan households feel.