Nicaragua

• 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

• destructive earthquakes;
• volcanoes;
• landslides;
• extremely susceptible to hurricanes

volcanism:

• significant volcanic activity;
• Cerro Negro (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

noun:

Nicaraguan(s)

adjective:

Nicaraguan

• 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 sample(s):

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• water pollution;
• drought

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

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

16.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

5.59 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

6.46 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

59.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

municipal:

286 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

73.6 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

1.185 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Nicaragua

conventional short form:

Nicaragua

local long form:

Republica 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)

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

• 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

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

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

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 as of 2014);
• election last held on 7 November 2021 (next to be held on 1 November 2026)

election results:

• 2021: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president for a fourth consecutive term;
• percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 75.9%, Walter ESPINOZA (PLC) 14.3%, Guillermo OSORNO (CCN) 3.3%, Marcelo MONTIEL (ALN) 3.1%, other 3.4%

;

• 2016: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president for a third consecutive term;
• percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 72.4%, Maximino RODRIGUEZ (PLC) 15%, Jose del Carmen ALVARADO (PLI) 4.5%, Saturnino CERRATO Hodgson (ALN) 4.3%, other 3.7%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 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; 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 2026)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - FSLN 75, PLC 9, ALN 2, APRE 1, CCN 1, PLI 1, YATAMA 1;
• composition - men 46, women 45, percent of women 49.4%

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

• Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Carlos CANALES]
• Conservative Party or PC [Alfredo CESAR]
• Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Jose del Carmen ALVARADO]
• Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Maria Haydee OSUNA]
• Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Alejandro MEJIA Ferreti]
• Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or CCN [Guillermo OSORNO]
• Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]
• Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Suyen BARAHONA]
• Sons of Mother Earth or YATAMA [Brooklyn RIVERA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Francisco Obadiah CAMPBELL Hooker (since 28 June 2010)

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kevin K. SULLIVAN (since 14 November 2018)

embassy:

Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua

mailing address:

3240 Managua Place, Washington DC 20521-3240

telephone:

[505] 2252-7100,

FAX:

[505] 2252-7250

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ni.usembassy.gov/

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

Fitch rating:

B- (2018)

Moody's rating:

B3 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: B- (2018)

agriculture:

31%

industry:

18%

services:

50% (2011 est.)

total:

8.5%

male:

6.4%

female:

12.9% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.8%

highest 10%:

47.1% (2014)

• 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)

total:

23,897 km (2014)

paved:

3,346 km (2014)

unpaved:

20,551 km (2014)

total:

5

by type:

general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 3 (2021)

• the Nicaraguan military's inventory includes mostly second-hand Russian/Soviet-era equipment;
• since 2010, Russia is the leading arms supplier to Nicaragua (2021)

• 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• tour of duty 18-36 months;
• requires Nicaraguan nationality and 6th-grade education (2021)

• the modern Army of Nicaragua was created in 1979 as the Sandinista Popular Army (1979-1984);
• prior to 1979, the military was known as the National Guard, which was organized and trained by the US in the 1920s and 1930s;
• the first commander of the National Guard, Anastasio SOMOZA García, seized power in 1937 and ran the country as a military dictator until his assassination in 1956;
• his sons ran the country either directly or through figureheads until the Sandinistas came to power in 1979;
• the defeated National Guard was disbanded by the Sandinistas

• 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;
• Nicaragua and Costa Rica regularly file border dispute cases over the delimitations of the San Juan River and the northern tip of Calero Island to the ICJ;
• there is an ongoing case in the ICJ to determine Pacific and Atlantic ocean maritime borders as well as land borders;
• in 2009, the ICJ ruled that Costa Rican vessels carrying out police activities could not use the river, but official Costa Rican vessels providing essential services to riverside inhabitants and Costa Rican tourists could travel freely on the river;
• in 2011, the ICJ provisionally ruled that both countries must remove personnel from the disputed area;
• in 2013, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua's 2012 suit to halt Costa Rica's construction of a highway paralleling the river on the grounds of irreparable environmental damage;
• in 2013, the ICJ, regarding the disputed territory, ordered that Nicaragua should refrain from dredging or canal construction and refill and repair damage caused by trenches connecting the river to the Caribbean and upheld its 2010 ruling that Nicaragua must remove all personnel;
• in early 2014, Costa Rica brought Nicaragua to the ICJ over offshore oil concessions in the disputed region;
• Nicaragua filed a case against Colombia in 2013 over the delimitation of the Continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan coast, as well as over the alleged violation by Colombia of Nicaraguan maritime space in the Caribbean Sea

current situation:

• human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Nicaragua and Nicaraguans abroad;
• women, children, and migrants are most at risk;
• women and children are subject to sex trafficking within the country and its two Caribbean autonomous regions, as well as in other Central American countries, Mexico, Spain, and the United States;
• traffickers used social media to recruit victims with promises of high-paying jobs in restaurants, hotels, construction, and security outside of Nicaragua where they are subjected to sex or labor trafficking;
• traffickers exploit children through forced participation in illegal drug production and trafficking;
• children and persons with disabilities are subjected to forced begging;
• Nicaragua is also a destination for child sex tourists from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe

tier rating:

• Tier 3 — Nicaragua does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so and was downgraded to Tier 3;
• the government identified slightly more victims than in the previous reporting period and prosecuted a trafficker;
• however, no traffickers were convicted and victim identification remained inadequate;
• authorities did not investigate, prosecute, or convict government employees complicit in trafficking;
• the government provided no victim services;
• prosecution, protection, and prevention efforts in the two Caribbean autonomous regions of Nicaragua continued to be much weaker than in the rest of the country (2020)