Map of Nicaragua | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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 a civic-military coalition, spearheaded by the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas led by Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador prompted the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA was elected president in 2006, 2011, 2016, and most recently in 2021. Municipal, regional, and national-level elections since 2008 have been marred by widespread irregularities. Democratic institutions have weakened under the ORTEGA regime as the president has garnered full control over all branches of government, especially after cracking down on a nationwide pro-democracy protest movement in 2018. In the lead-up to the 2021 presidential election, authorities arrested over 40 individuals linked to the political opposition, including presidential candidates, private sector leaders, NGO workers, human rights defenders, and journalists. Only five lesser-known presidential candidates of mostly small parties allied to ORTEGA's Sandinistas were allowed to run against ORTEGA in the November 2021 election.


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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: 130,370 km²
Land: 119,990 km²
Water: 10,380 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than New York state

Land boundaries
Total: 1,253 km
Border countries: (2) Costa Rica 313 km; Honduras 940 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
Highest point: Mogoton 2,085 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 298 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 42.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 12.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 27.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 25.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,990 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 286 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.08 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 164.52 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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
Distribution: the overwhelming majority of the population resides in the western half of the country, with much of the urban growth centered in the capital city of Managua; coastal areas also show large population clusters: 6,359,689 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.97% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 24.9% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Nicaraguan(s)
Adjective: Nicaraguan

Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Amerindian 5%

Languages: Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5%; note - English and indigenous languages found on the Caribbean coast (2005 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Evangelical 33.2%, other 2.9%, none 0.7%, unspecified 13.2% (2017 est.)

Demographic profile: Despite being one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaragua has improved its access to potable water and sanitation and has ameliorated its life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and immunization rates. However, income distribution is very uneven, and the poor, agriculturalists, and indigenous people continue to have less access to healthcare services. Nicaragua's total fertility rate has fallen from around 6 children per woman in 1980 to below replacement level today, but the high birth rate among adolescents perpetuates a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment.

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.16% (male 784,847/female 751,616)
15-64 years: 69.36% (male 2,134,871/female 2,276,522)
65 years and over: 6.48% (2023 est.) (male 180,441/female 231,392)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 54.4
Youth dependency ratio: 46.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 8
Potential support ratio: 12.6 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 28.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 27.6 years
Female: 29.4 years

Population growth rate: 0.97% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 16.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: the overwhelming majority of the population resides in the western half of the country, with much of the urban growth centered in the capital city of Managua; coastal areas also show large population clusters

Urbanization
Urban population: 59.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1.095 million MANAGUA (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; drought
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 5.59 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 6.46 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.2 years (2011/12 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio: 78 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 73 years
Female: 76.2 years

Total fertility rate: 1.85 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 80.4% (2011/12)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 97.5% of population
Improved rural: 62.6% of population
Improved total: 83.2% of population
Unimproved urban: 2.5% of population
Unimproved rural: 37.4% of population
Unimproved total: 16.8% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 8.6% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 1.67 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 0.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 23.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 3.69 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 1.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 2.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.6% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 82.6%
Male: 82.4%
Female: 82.8% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 11.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 10.2%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15.5%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
Conventional short form: Nicaragua
Local long form: República de Nicaragua
Local short form: Nicaragua
Etymology: Nicarao was the name of the largest indigenous settlement at the time of Spanish arrival; conquistador Gil GONZALEZ Davila, who explored the area (1622-23), combined the name of the community with the Spanish word "agua" (water), referring to the two large lakes in the west of the country (Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua)

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Managua
Geographic coordinates: 12 08 N, 86 15 W
Time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: may derive from the indigenous Nahuatl term "mana-ahuac," which translates as "adjacent to the water" or a site "surrounded by water"; the city is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua

Administrative divisions: 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Costa Caribe Norte*, Costa Caribe Sur*, 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
History: several previous; latest adopted 19 November 1986, effective 9 January 1987
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or assent of at least half of the National Assembly membership; passage requires approval by 60% of the membership of the next elected Assembly and promulgation by the president of the republic; amended several times, last in 2021

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

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: no, except in cases where bilateral agreements exist
Residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Rosario MURILLO Zambrana (since 10 January 2017); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Rosario MURILLO Zambrana (since 10 January 2017)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified plurality vote for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 7 November 2021 (next to be held on 1 November 2,026)
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 statutory seats, current 91; 70 members in multi-seat constituencies, representing the country's 15 departments and 2 autonomous regions, and 20 members in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; up to 2 seats reserved for the previous president and the runner-up candidate in the previous presidential election; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 7 November 2021 (next to be held on 1 November 2,026)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 75, PLC 10, ALN 2, APRE 1, PLI 2, YATAMA 1; composition - men 45, women 46, percent of women 50.6%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 16 judges organized into administrative, civil, criminal, and constitutional chambers)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges elected by the National Assembly to serve 5-year staggered terms
Subordinate courts: Appeals Court; first instance civil, criminal, and labor courts; military courts are independent of the Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Obadiah CAMPBELL Hooker (since 28 June 2010)
In the us chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-6,570
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 939-6,545
In the us email address and website: mperalta@cancilleria.gob.ni
In the us consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Kevin Michael O'REILLY (since 28 June 2023)
From the us embassy: Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua
From the us mailing address: 3,240 Managua Place, Washington DC 20,521-3,240
From the us telephone: [505] 2,252-7,100,
From the us FAX: [505] 2,252-7,250
From the us email address and website:

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; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water
Note: 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: turquoise-browed motmot (bird); national colors: blue, white

National anthem
Name: "Salve a ti, Nicaragua" (Hail to Thee, Nicaragua)
Lyrics/music: Salomon Ibarra MAYORGA/traditional, arranged by Luis Abraham DELGADILLO
Note: although only officially adopted in 1971, the music was approved in 1918 and the lyrics in 1939; the tune, originally from Spain, was used as an anthem for Nicaragua from the 1830s until 1876

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: low-income Central American economy; until 2018, nearly 20 years of sustained GDP growth; recent struggles due to COVID-19, political instability, and hurricanes; significant remittances; increasing poverty and food scarcity since 2005; sanctions limit investment

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 69.9% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 15.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 28.1% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 41.2% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -55.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 15.5% (2017 est.)
Industry: 24.4% (2017 est.)
Services: 60% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: sugar cane, milk, rice, maize, plantains, groundnuts, cassava, beans, coffee, poultry

Industries: food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining

Industrial production growth rate: 21.28% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 3.042 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 11.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 10.2%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15.5%

Population below poverty line: 24.9% (2016 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 46.2 (2014 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 1.8%
Highest 10%: 47.1% (2014)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $3.452 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $3.511 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 17.2% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as retirement, medical care, and unemployment, debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions; Nicaragua rebased its GDP figures in 2012, which reduced the figures for debt as a percentage of GDP

Revenue
From forest resources: 1.26% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

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:
Partners: United States 60%, El Salvador 5%, Mexico 5% (2019)
Commodities: clothing and apparel, gold, insulated wiring, coffee, beef, cigars (2021)

Imports:
Partners: United States 27%, Mexico 12%, China 11%, Guatemala 9%, Costa Rica 7%, El Salvador 6%, Honduras 6% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, clothing and apparel, crude petroleum, packaged medicines, insulated wiring (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million
Access electrification-total population: 86.2% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 100% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 66.3% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 1.837 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 3,182,620,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 434 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 1.89 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 37.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 15.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 12.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 16.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 17.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 35,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 13,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 14,720 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 460 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 20,120 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 4.851 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 4.851 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 14.916 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 215,729 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6,233,864 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 91 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: multiple terrestrial TV stations, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; nearly all are government-owned or affiliated; more than 300 radio stations, both government-affiliated and privately owned (2019)

Internet
Country code: .ni
Users total: 3.933 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 57% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 290,351 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Armed Forces of Nicaragua (formal name is Army of Nicaragua or Ejercito de Nicaragua, EN): Land Forces (Fuerza Terrestre); Naval Forces (Fuerza Naval); Air Forces (Fuerza Aérea) (2023)
Note: both the military and the Nicaraguan National Police (Policía Nacional de Nicaragua or PNN) report directly to the president; Parapolice, which are nonuniformed, armed, and masked units with marginal tactical training and loose hierarchical organization, act in coordination with government security forces and report directly to the National Police; they have been used to suppress anti-government protesters

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months (2023)

Space program
Overview: stated mission of the space agency is to promote the development of space activities with the aim of broadening the country’s capacities in the fields of education, industry, science, and technology; has cooperated with China and Russia; is a signatory of the convention establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 7

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YN

Airports: 147 (2021)
With paved runways: 12
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 135
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

Pipelines: 54 km oil (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 23,897 km (2014)
Paved: 3,346 km (2014)
Unpaved: 20,551 km (2014)

Waterways: 2,220 km (2011) (navigable waterways as well as the use of the large Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua; rivers serve only the sparsely populated eastern part of the country)

Merchant marine
Total: 5 (2022)
By type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 3

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Bluefields, Corinto


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Disputes international: Nicaragua-El Salvador-Honduras: 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; the court ruled, rather, that the Gulf of Fonseca represents a condominium, with control being shared by El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua; the decision allowed for the possibility that the three nations could divide the waters at a later date if they wished to do so

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs:  transit route for illicit drugs originating from South America destined for the United States