Nicaragua

§1. Nicaragua Introduction

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.

§2. Nicaragua Geography

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

Area:
  total: 129,494 km²
  land: 120,254 km²
  water: 9,240 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than the state of New York

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,231 km
  border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

Coastline:
  910 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 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
  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:
  880 km² (1998 est.)

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

§3. Nicaragua People

Population:
  5,570,129 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)
  15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353)
  65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 20.9 years
  male: 20.5 years
  female: 21.4 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.89% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  4.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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 (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 28.11 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 24.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.63 years
  male: 68.55 years
  female: 72.81 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.75 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  6,400 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nicaraguan(s)
  adjective: Nicaraguan

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

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

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

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 67.5%
  male: 67.2%
  female: 67.8% (2003 est.)

§4. Nicaragua Government

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:
  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

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

Suffrage:
  16 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002);
    Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); note - the
    president is both chief of state and head of government; Alfredo GOMEZ
    Urcuyo was elected Vice President by the deputies of the National
    Assembly after Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon resigned on 27
    September 2005
  head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January
    2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); 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%

Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are
  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); note - current Assembly has only 91 seats
  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%, PC
    2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PC 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]; Central American
  Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC
  [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Mario Sebastian
  RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez,
  Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or
  PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge
  CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ
  Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; 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 [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; 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, IPU, 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
  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 Paul A. TRIVELLI
  embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua
  mailing address: APO AA 34021
  telephone: [505] 266-6010
  FAX: [505] 266-3861

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

§5. Nicaragua Economy

Economy - overview:
  Nicaragua, one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, has low per
  capita income, widespread underemployment, and a heavy external debt
  burden. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe.
  While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past
  few years, GDP annual 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. Nicaragua qualified in early
  2004 for some $45 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily
  Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because of its earlier successful
  performances under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other
  efforts. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free
  Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to
  attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. High oil
  prices helped drive inflation to 9.6% in 2005, leading to a fall in real
  GDP growth to 4% from over 5% in 2004.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $13.24 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $5.03 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  4% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $2,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 18.1%
  industry: 26.6%
  services: 55.4% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  2.01 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  6.9% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  50% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 1.2%
  highest 10%: 45% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  55.1 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  9.6% (2005)

Investment (gross fixed):
  30.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.134 billion
  expenditures: $1.358 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Public debt:
  130% of GDP (2005 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:
  2.4% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  2.887 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.848 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  21.8 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  23.3 million kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  14,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  25,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
  758.9 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
  15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
  $-799.8 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $1.55 billion f.o.b.; note - includes free trade zones (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts

Exports - partners:
  US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004)

Imports:
  $2.865 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
  US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El
  Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $730 million (31 December 2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $5.144 billion (31 December 2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $419.5 million (2005 est.)

Currency (code):
  gold cordoba (NIO)

Exchange rates:
  gold cordobas per US dollar - 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003),
  14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Nicaragua Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  214,500 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  738,600 (2004)

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 country code:
  .ni

Internet hosts:
  12,628 (2005)

Internet users:
  125,000 (2005)

§7. Nicaragua Transportation

Airports:
  176 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 11
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
  914 to 1,523 m: 3
  under 914 m: 3 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 165
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 23
  under 914 m: 141 (2005)

Pipelines:
  oil 54 km (2004)

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

Roadways:
  total: 18,658 km
  paved: 2,120 km
  unpaved: 16,538 km (2003)

Waterways:
  2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff

§8. Nicaragua Military

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.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 65,170 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $32.27 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  0.7% (2005 est.)

§9. Nicaragua Transnational Issues

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 km² 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


<Factbook 2006>
