Nicaragua

Republic of NicaraguaRepublica de Nicaragua

republicIndependence 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Nicaragua as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 120 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalManagua
Position13 00 N, 85 00 W
Area129,494 sq km
LocationCentral America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
2005

Every edition of Nicaragua

Populationas each edition published it
5.47 million July 2005 est. · 3.72m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.92% 2005 est. · 2.74% in 1993
Median ageyears
20.56 years 2005 est. · 20.4 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
70.33 years 2005 est. · 63.5 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.81 children per woman 2005 est. · 5 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
29.11 deaths per 1,000 live births 2005 est. · 68 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$2,300 2004 est. · $425 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
4% 2004 est. · 0.5% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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 again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Geography

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

18 fields

Land useshare of 129,494 sq km

arable land 15.94%permanent crops 1.94%other 82.12% (2001)irrigated 880 sq km (1998 est.)
Area
129,494sq km
land: 120,254 sq kmwater: 9,240 sq kmslightly smaller than the state of New York
Coastline
910km
territorial sea: 200 nmcontinental shelf: natural prolongation
Highest point
2,438m
Mogotonlowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Land boundaries
1,231km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

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 references

Central America and the Caribbean

Climate

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Terrain

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

Natural resources

gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes

Environment - current issues

  • deforestation;
  • soil erosion;
  • water pollution

Environment - 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
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification

Geography - note

largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua

People

19 fields

Age structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)

73,935
65 and over3.1%
94,370
1,623,065
15-6459.7%
1,638,017
1,036,487
0-1437.2%
999,226
MaleFemale
Population
5,465,100
(July 2005 est.)growth rate: 1.92% (2005 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)

Birth
24.88Death
4.49Net migration
-1.19

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2005 est.)70.33
68.27 · 72.49Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)29.11
32.6 · 25.44
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (2003 est.)67.5%
67.2% · 67.8%Median age years (2005 est.)20.56
20.15 · 20.98
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

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

Religions(1995 census)

Roman Catholic 72.9%Evangelical 15.1%Moravian 1.5%Episcopal 0.1%other 1.9%none 8.5% (1995 census)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.78 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Nicaraguan(s)
adjective:
Nicaraguan

Languages

Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast

Government

Republic; President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002)

18 fields

National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional, 92 seats, elected 4 November 2001one dot, one seat

Liberal Alliance 53FSLN 38PCN 1

Country name

conventional long form:
Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form:
Nicaragua
local long form:
Republica de Nicaragua
local short form:
Nicaragua

Capital

Managua

Administrative divisions

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

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution

9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000

Suffrage

16 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:
  • President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002);
  • Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002);
  • note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government:
  • President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002);
  • Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002);
  • note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
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 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)
election results:
  • Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%;
  • Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election

elections:
last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006)
election results:
  • percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes
    • PCCN,
    • PLC,
    • PALI,
    • PLIUN,
    • and PUCA) 46.03%,
    • FSLN 36.55%,
    • PCN 2.12%
    ;
  • seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders

  • Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE];
  • Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA];
  • Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza];
  • Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI];
  • Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos];
  • Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA];
  • Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant];
  • Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez];
  • New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA];
  • Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina];
  • Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA];
  • Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra];
  • Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA];
  • Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders

  • National Workers Front or FNT is 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;
  • Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS;
  • Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union;
  • Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups

International organization participation

BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery:
1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573
FAX:
[1] (202) 939-6545
consulate(s) general:
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy:
Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua
mailing address:
APO AA 34021
telephone:
[505] 266-6010
FAX:
[505] 266-9074

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

Economy

Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt.

39 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$12.34billion
(2004 est.)
Real growth rate
4%
(2004 est.)industrial production growth: 4.4% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate
7.8%
plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)

agriculture 20.7%industry 24.7%services 54.6% (2004 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

64.8%
US
22.6%
Costa Rica
8.5%
Venezuela
8.4%
7%
El Salvador
4.9%
Guatemala
6.8%
3.6%
Mexico
5.8%
South Korea
4.5%
Exports $750 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)Imports $2.02 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)(2004)

Budget

Revenues
$725.5 millionExpenditures
$1.039 billion (2004 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of NA

Electricity

Electricity production
2.553 billion (2002)Electricity consumption
2.318 billion (2002)Electricity exports
6.8 million (2002)Electricity imports
15.3 million (2002)

Economy - overview

Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs.

As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden.

If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager.

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)

Labor force

1.93 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
1.2%
highest 10%:
45% (2001)

Investment (gross fixed)

28% of GDP (2004 est.)

Public debt

69.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products

coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products

Industries

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

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption

25,770 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports

738 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports

27,950 bbl/day (2003)

Current account balance

$-843.1 million (2004 est.)

Exports

$750 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts

Imports

$2.02 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products

Debt - external

$4.573 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$541.8 million (2003)

Currency (code)

gold cordoba (NIO)

Exchange rates

gold cordobas per US dollar - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields
Mobile cellular
202,800
(2002)
Internet users
7,094
(2003)
Fixed lines
171,600
(2002) · country code .ni

Telephone system

general assessment:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic:
low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System
international:
country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)

Internet users

90,000 (2002)

Transportation

8 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

3
2,438 to 3,047 m
2
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
3
914 to 1,523 m
23
3
under 914 m
141
Paved 11Unpaved 165

Networkskm

Highways
18,712Railways
6Waterways
2,220 (1997)
Highways: paved: 2,126 km · unpaved: 16,586 km (2002) · Railways: narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) · Waterways: (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua)

Railways

total:
6 km
narrow gauge:
6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)

Highways

total:
18,712 km
paved:
2,126 km
unpaved:
16,586 km (2002)

Waterways

2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997)

Pipelines

oil 54 km (2004)

Ports and harbors

Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff

Airports

176 (2004 est.)

Military

Army (includes Navy, Air Force)

7 fields

Military branches

Army (includes Navy, Air Force)

Military service age and obligation

17 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service

males age 17-49: 1,309,970 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 17-49: 1,051,425 (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

  • Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank;
  • 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

Illicit drugs

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

Central Intelligence Agency. “Nicaragua.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/nicaragua/2005.

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