Page last updated on January 28, 2014
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. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, November 2011 presidential elections, and 2012 municipal elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 130,370 sq km
country comparison to the world: 98
land: 119,990 sq km
water: 10,380 sq km
slightly smaller than New York state
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
arable land: 14.57%
permanent crops: 1.76%
other: 83.66% (2011)
total: 1.39 cu km/yr (23%/4%/73%)
per capita: 265.9 cu m/yr (2008)
destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (elev. 728 m), which last erupted in 1999, is one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes; its lava flows and ash have been known to cause significant damage to farmland and buildings; other historically active volcanoes include Concepcion, Cosiguina, Las Pilas, Masaya, Momotombo, San Cristobal, and Telica
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Spanish (official) 97.5%, Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages found on the Atlantic coast
Roman Catholic 58.5%, Protestant 23.2% (Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%), Jehovah's Witnesses 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
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 just above replacement level today, but the high birth rate among adolescents perpetuates a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment.
5,788,531 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
0-14 years: 30% (male 886,490/female 852,690)
15-24 years: 22.5% (male 653,868/female 651,076)
25-54 years: 37.4% (male 1,024,395/female 1,143,011)
55-64 years: 5.2% (male 141,026/female 162,159)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male 123,878/female 149,938) (2013 est.)
total dependency ratio: 59.9 %
youth dependency ratio: 52.5 %
elderly dependency ratio: 7.4 %
potential support ratio: 13.5 (2013)
total: 23.7 years
male: 22.8 years
female: 24.6 years (2013 est.)
1.05% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
18.77 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
5.06 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
-3.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
urban population: 57% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
MANAGUA (capital) 934,000 (2009)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
19.7
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2007 est.)
95 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 77
total: 21.09 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 87
male: 24.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
total population: 72.45 years
country comparison to the world: 131
male: 70.32 years
female: 74.68 years (2013 est.)
2.03 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
10.1% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 26
0.37 physicians/1,000 population (2003)
1.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
0.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
6,900 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
fewer than 500 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria (2013)
22.2% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 81
5.7% (2007)
country comparison to the world: 83
4.7% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 85
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78%
male: 78.1%
female: 77.9% (2005 est.)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2003)
total number: 223,992
percentage: 14 %
note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2005 est.)
total: 8.6%
country comparison to the world: 118
male: 8.1%
female: 9.7% (2006)
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua
local long form: Republica de Nicaragua
local short form: Nicaragua
name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 08 N, 86 15 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
several previous; latest adopted 19 November 1986, effective 9 January 1987; amended several times, last in 2007 (2007)
civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
16 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Moises Omar HALLESLEVENS Acevedo (since 10 January 2012); 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 Moises Omar HALLESLEVENS Acevedo (since 10 January 2012)
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; election last held on 6 November 2011 (next to be held by November 2016)
election results: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president; percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra 62.5%, Fabio GADEA 31%, Arnoldo ALEMAN 5.9%, other 0.6%
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held on 6 November 2011 (next to be held by November 2016)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 64, PLI/MRS 26, PLC 2
highest court(s): 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 military courts
Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Carlos CANALES]
National Workers Front or FNT (a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including: Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN)
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, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Obadiah CAMPBELL Hooker (since 23 June 2010)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, 6573
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545
consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco
chief of mission: Ambassador Phyllis M. POWERS (since 24 April 2012)
embassy: Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua
mailing address: American Embassy Managua, APO AA 34021
telephone: [505] 2252-7100, 2252-7888; 2252-7634 (after hours)
FAX: [505] 2252-7250
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
turquoise-browed motmot (bird)
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 1830's until 1876
Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many agricultural and manufactured goods. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports. The ORTEGA administration's promotion of mixed business initiatives, owned by the Nicaraguan and Venezuelan state oil firms, together with the weak rule of law, could undermine the investment climate for domestic and international private firms in the near-term. Nicaragua relied on an IMF external credit facility to meet internal- and external-debt financing obligations. The most recent IMF program ended in 2011 and Nicaragua is currently in negotiations for a new program. Nicaragua depends heavily on foreign development assistance, however, donors have curtailed this funding in response to November 2008 and subsequent electoral fraud. Nicaragua still struggles with a high public debt burden, however, it succeeded in reducing that burden in 2011. The economy grew at a rate of about 4% in 2012.
$26.38 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
$10.36 billion (2012 est.)
5.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
$4,400 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
household consumption: 86.3%
government consumption: 10.3%
investment in fixed capital: 32.8%
exports of goods and services: 39.8%
imports of goods and services: -69.2%
agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 25.9%
services: 56.8% (2012 est.)
coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters, cotton
food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining
6% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
2.961 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
agriculture: 28%
industry: 19%
services: 53% (2010 est.)
7.4% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 41.8% (2005)
40.5 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 57
revenues: $2.728 billion
expenditures: $2.752 billion (2012 est.)
26.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
-0.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
58.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49
note: official data; data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental 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
7.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 180
3% (31 December 2010 est.)
11.99% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
$788.4 million (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 152
$3.136 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
$4.567 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
$-1.35 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
$4.157 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
coffee, beef, gold, sugar, peanuts, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, cigars, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles, apparel, cotton
US 55.6%, Canada 8.6%, Venezuela 7.3%, El Salvador 4.2% (2012)
$6.45 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
US 19%, Venezuela 14.8%, Mexico 12.2%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Guatemala 8%, China 7.9%, El Salvador 4.7% (2012)
$1.887 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
$7.79 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
cordobas (NIO) per US dollar -
3.824 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
2.941 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
43 million kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
10 million kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
1.108 million kW (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
66% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
9.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
24.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 202
0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
16,020 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 173
15,870 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
30,690 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114
999.6 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
15,830 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
0 cu m (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
0 cu m (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
0 cu m (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
0 cu m (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
0 cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 181
5.035 million Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
320,000 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 112
5.346 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 108
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; fixed-line teledensity roughly 5 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased to roughly 85 per 100 persons
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) (2011)
multiple privately owned terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; of more than 100 radio stations, nearly all are privately owned; Radio Nicaragua is government-owned and Radio Sandino is controlled by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) (2007)
296,068 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 63
199,800 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 141
147 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 40
total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 4 (2013)
total: 135
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m:
total: 22,111 km
country comparison to the world: 104
paved: 2,850 km
unpaved: 19,261 km (2010)
2,220 km (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) (2011)
country comparison to the world: 40
major seaport(s): Bluefields, Corinto
National Army of Nicaragua (Ejercito Nacional de Nicaragua, ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2013)
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months; requires Nicaraguan nationality and 6th-grade education (2012)
males age 16-49: 1,452,107
females age 16-49: 1,552,698 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 1,227,757
females age 16-49: 1,335,653 (2010 est.)
male: 69,093
female: 67,522 (2010 est.)
0.63% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 362
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
