Statistical information Nicaragua 1992

Nicaragua in the World

Nicaragua - Introduction 1992

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Background: Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 saw the Sandinistas defeated.

Nicaragua - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 129,494 km²
Land: 120,254 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New York State

Land boundaries: 1,231 km total; Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

Coastline: 910 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 25 nm security zone (status of claim uncertain)
Continental shelf: not specified
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Disputes:

territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San
Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; unresolved maritime boundary in
Golfo de Fonseca

Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Terrain: extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes

Elevation

Natural resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish

Land use

Land use: arable land: 9%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 43%; forest and woodland 35%; other 12%; including irrigated 1%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Nicaragua - People 1992

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Population: 3,878,150 (July 1992), growth rate 2.8% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Nicaraguan(s; adjective - Nicaraguan

Ethnic groups: mestizo 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Indian 5%

Languages: Spanish (official; English- and Indian-speaking minorities on Atlantic coast

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 37 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasional severe hurricanes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 57 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 66 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 57% (male 57%, female 57%) age 15 and over can read and write (1971)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Nicaragua - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua

Government type: republic

Capital: Managua

Administrative divisions:

9 administrative regions encompassing 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Boaco, Carazo,
Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua,
Masaya, Matagalpa, North Atlantic Coast Autonomous Zone (RAAN), Nueva
Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, South Atlantic Coast Autonomous Zone (RAAS)

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: January 1987

Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 16
National Assembly:

last held on 25 February 1990 (next to be held
February 1996); results - UNO 53.9%, FSLN 40.8%, PSC 1.6%, MUR 1.0%; seats - (92 total) UNO 51, FSLN 39, PSC 1, MUR 1

President:

last held on 25 February 1990 (next to be held February 1996); results - Violeta Barrios de CHAMORRO (UNO) 54.7%, Daniel ORTEGA
Saavedra (FSLN) 40.8%, other 4.5%

Communists: 15,000-20,000

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema) and municipal courts

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU,
LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation:

Ambassador Ernesto PALAZIO; Chancery at 1627
New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009; telephone (202) 939-6,570

US:

Ambassador Harry W. SHLAUDEMAN; Embassy at Kilometer 4.5 Carretera
Sur., Managua (mailing address is APO AA 34,021); telephone 505 (2) 666,010 or 666,013, 666,015 through 18, 666,026, 666,027, 666,032 through 34; FAX 505 (2) 666,046

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words
REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and: AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Nicaragua - Economy 1992

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Economy overview:

Government control of the economy historically has been extensive, although the CHAMORRO government has pledged to greatly reduce intervention. Four private banks have been licensed, and the government has liberalized foreign trade and abolished price controls on most goods. Over 50% of the agricultural and industrial firms remain state owned. Sandinista economic policies and the war had produced a severe economic crisis. The foundation of the economy continues to be the export of agricultural commodities, largely coffee and cotton. Farm production fell by roughly 7% in 1989 and 4% in 1990, and remained about even in 1991. The agricultural sector employs 44% of the work force and accounts for 15% of GDP and 80% of export earnings. Industry, which employs 13% of the work force and contributes about 25% to GDP, showed a drop of 7% in 1989, fell slightly in 1990, and remained flat in 1991; output still is below pre-1979 levels.
External debt is one of the highest in the world on a per capita basis. In 1991 the inflation rate was 766%, down sharply from the 13,490% of 1990.

GDP: exchange rate conversion - $1.6 billion, per capita $425; real growth rate - 1.0% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 15% of GDP and 44% of work force; cash crops - coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton; food crops - rice, corn, cassava, citrus fruit, beans; variety of animal products - beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy; normally self-sufficient in food

Industries: food processing, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate NA; accounts for about 25% of GDP

Labor force: 1,086,000; service 43%, agriculture 44%, industry 13% (1986)
Organized labor: 35% of labor force

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 13%; underemployment 50% (1991)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $347 million; expenditures $499 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1991)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $342 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, seafood, meat, chemicals
Partners: OECD 75%, USSR and Eastern Europe 15%, other 10%

Imports: $738 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: petroleum, food, chemicals, machinery, clothing
Partners: Latin America 30%, US 25%, EC 20%, USSR and Eastern Europe 10%, other 15% (1990 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: cordobas (C$) per US$1 - 25,000,000 (March 1992), 21,354,000 (1991), 15,655 (1989), 270 (1988), 102.60 (1987)

Nicaragua - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 423,000 kW capacity; 1,409 million kWh produced, 376 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Nicaragua - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Nicaragua - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

exchange rate conversion - $70 million, 3.8% of
GDP (1991 budget)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Nicaragua - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

228 total, 155 usable; 11 with permanent-surface runways; none
with runways over 3,659 m; 2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 56 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes

Merchant marine:

2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,161
GRT/2,500 DWT

Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals

Nicaragua - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs