Map of Nicaragua | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. 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 1996 and 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt.


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Location: Central America bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean between Costa Rica and Honduras

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N 85 00 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 129,494 km²
Land: 120,254 km²
Water: 9,240 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than the state of New York

Land boundaries
Total: 1,231 km
Border countries: (2) Costa Rica 309 km; , Honduras 922 km

Coastline: 910 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: natural prolongation

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
Extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m

Natural resources: gold silver copper tungsten lead zinc timber fish

Land use
Arable land: 14.81%
Permanent crops: 1.82%
Other: 83.37% (2005)

Irrigated land: 610 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 196.7 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes volcanoes landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes

Geography
Note: largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America Lago de Nicaragua


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Population: 5,785,846 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 1.825% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Nicaraguan
Adjective: Nicaraguan

Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69% white 17% black 9% Amerindian 5%

Languages
Note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast

Religions: Roman Catholic 58.5% Evangelical 21.6% Moravian 1.6% Jehovah's Witness 0.9% other 1.7% none 15.7% (2005 census)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.6% (male 1,019,281/female 981,903)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 1,792,398/female 1,803,133)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 82,840/female 106,291) (2008 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 21.7 years
Male: 21.3 years
Female: 22.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.825% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 23.7 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 4.33 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.13 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female (2008 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 25.91 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 29.06 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 22.6 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.21 years
Male: 69.08 years
Female: 73.44 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.63 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 6,400 (2003 est.)
Deaths: fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria
Water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (2003)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 67.5%
Male: 67.2%
Female: 67.8% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years (2003)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
Conventional short form: Nicaragua
Local long form: Republica de Nicaragua
Local short form: Nicaragua

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Managua
Geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W
Time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 15 departments (departamentos singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte* Atlantico Sur* Boaco Carazo Chinandega Chontales Esteli Granada Jinotega Leon Madriz Managua Masaya Matagalpa Nueva Segovia Rio San Juan Rivas

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 2000 and 2005

Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)
Election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Enrique SAENZ Navarrete]

International organization participation: BCIE CACM FAO G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ITSO ITU ITUC LAES LAIA (observer) MIGA NAM OAS OPANAL OPCW PCA RG UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr.
In the us chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-6,570, [1] (202) 939-6,573
In the us fax: [1] (202) 939-6,545
In the us consulates general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI
From the us embassy: Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Managua, APO AA 34,021
From the us telephone: [505] 252-7,100, 252-7,888; 252-7,634 (after hours)
From the us fax: [505] 252-7,304

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 REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Nicaragua has widespread underemployment one of the highest degrees of income inequality in the world and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years annual GDP growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. In early 2004 Nicaragua secured some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in October 2007 the IMF approved a new poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF) program that should create fiscal space for social spending and investment. The continuity of a relationship with the IMF reinforces donor confidence despite private sector concerns surrounding ORTEGA which has dampened investment. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many agricultural and manufactured goods. Energy shortages fueled by high oil prices however are a serious bottleneck to growth.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $16.17 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.8% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $2,800 (2007 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 16.9%
Industry: 25.8%
Services: 57.2% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: coffee bananas sugarcane cotton rice corn tobacco sesame soya beans; beef veal pork poultry dairy products; shrimp lobsters

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 2.262 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 29%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 52% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.9% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2007 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.2%
Highest 10: 33.8% (2001)

Distribution of family income gini index: 43.1 (2001)

Budget
Revenues: $1.115 billion
Expenditures: $1.291 billion (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 62.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.1% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: NA (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 13.04% (31 December 2007)

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $4.133 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: -$1.001 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $2.313 billion f.o.b.; note - includes free trade zones (2007 est.)
Commodities: coffee beef shrimp and lobster tobacco sugar gold peanuts
Partners: US 31.7% El Salvador 14% Honduras 9.3% Costa Rica 7.2% Canada 5.8% Guatemala 5.5% Mexico 4.8% (2007)

Imports: $4.078 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: consumer goods machinery and equipment raw materials petroleum products
Partners: US 22.5% Mexico 13.5% Costa Rica 8.4% Venezuela 6.4% Guatemala 6.2% El Salvador 4.8% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.103 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $3.341 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: gold cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 18.457 (2007) 17.582 (2006) 16.733 (2005) 15.937 (2004) 15.105 (2003)


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Electricity
Production: 3.012 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 2.413 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 63.95 million kWh (2007 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 247,900 (2006)
Mobile cellular: 2.123 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: system being upgraded by foreign investment; nearly all installed telecommunications capacity now uses digital technology, owing to investments since privatization of the formerly state-owned telecommunications company
Domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved but teledensity still lags behind other Central American countries; connected to Central American Microwave System
International: country code - 505; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ni
Hosts: 58,157 (2008)
Users: 155,000 (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (2006)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary military service; tour of duty 18-36 months (2008)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 163 (2007)
With paved runways total: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 152
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 135 (2007)

Heliports

Pipelines: oil 54 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 6 km
Narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 19,036 km
Paved: 2,299 km
Unpaved: 16,737 km (2005)

Waterways: 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals: Bluefields Corinto El Bluff


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Disputes international: memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing