Nicaragua

Broadcast media

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)

Internet country code

.ni

Internet hosts

296,068 (2012) country comparison to the world: 63

Internet users

199,800 (2009) country comparison to the world: 141

Telephone system

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)

Telephones - main lines in use

287,600 (2011) country comparison to the world: 118

Telephones - mobile cellular

4.822 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 106

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $2.619 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion (2012 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

0.7% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 33

Central bank discount rate

3% (31 December 2010 est.) NA% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

11.5% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 84 10.54% (31 December 2011 est.)

Current account balance

-$1.476 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 127 -$1.259 billion (2011 est.)

Debt - external

$5.228 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 114 $5.012 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

40.5 (2010) country comparison to the world: 57 60.3 (1998)

Economy - overview

Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many agricultural and manufactured goods. Textiles and apparel account for nearly 60% of Nicaragua's exports, but increases in the minimum wage during the ORTEGA administration will likely erode its comparative advantage in this industry. ORTEGA'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 relies on international economic assistance to meet internal- and external-debt financing obligations. Foreign donors have curtailed this funding, however, in response to November 2008 electoral fraud. In early 2004, Nicaragua secured some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Managua 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.

Exchange rates

cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 23.58 (2012 est.) 22.424 (2011 est.) 21.356 (2010 est.) 20.34 (2009) 19.374 (2008)

Exports

$4.16 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 123 $3.941 billion (2011 est.)

Exports - commodities

coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts; cigars, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles and apparel

Exports - partners

US 60.1%, Canada 8.3%, El Salvador 4.6% (2011)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$7.828 billion (2012 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$19.89 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 131 $19.18 billion (2011 est.) $18.33 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 17.5% industry: 25.8% services: 56.7% (2012 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$3,300 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 170 $3,300 (2011 est.) $3,200 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

3.7% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 92 4.7% (2011 est.) 4.5% (2010 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.8% (2005)

Imports

$6.519 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 115 $5.996 billion (2011 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

US 21.3%, Venezuela 14%, Costa Rica 8.7%, China 8.5%, Mexico 8.2%, Guatemala 8%, El Salvador 5.4% (2011)

Industrial production growth rate

1.5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 133

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7.4% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 177 8.1% (2011 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

34.1% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

Labor force

2.961 million (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 104

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 28% industry: 19% services: 53% (2010 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA

Population below poverty line

46.2% (2005)

Public debt

70.5% of GDP (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 38 78.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$1.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 123 $1.892 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of broad money

$3.136 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 142 $2.924 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$4.138 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 119 $4.195 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$1.287 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 141 $1.125 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

33.5% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 80

Unemployment rate

7.4% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 83 7.3% (2011 est.) note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

4.825 million Mt (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 125

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 166

Crude oil - imports

16,080 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 72

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 176

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 175

Electricity - consumption

2.646 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 135

Electricity - exports

100,000 kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 88

Electricity - from fossil fuels

67.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

9.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 116

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 156

Electricity - from other renewable sources

22.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

Electricity - imports

2 million kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 106

Electricity - installed generating capacity

1.104 million kW (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 123

Electricity - production

3.585 billion kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 125

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 184

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 129

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 178

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 181

Refined petroleum products - consumption

31,930 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 114

Refined petroleum products - exports

999.6 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 111

Refined petroleum products - imports

14,170 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 123

Refined petroleum products - production

14,680 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 102

Area

total: 130,370 sq km country comparison to the world: 98 land: 119,990 sq km water: 10,380 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than New York state

Climate

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Coastline

910 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Environment - international agreements

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

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 1.3 cu km/yr (15%/2%/83%) per capita: 237 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

13 00 N, 85 00 W

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

610 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

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

Land use

arable land: 14.81% permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005)

Location

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

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

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

Terrain

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

Total renewable water resources

196.7 cu km (2000)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

name: Managua geographic coordinates: 12 08 N, 86 15 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution

9 January 1987; revised in 1995, 2000, and 2005

Country name

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Phyllis M. POWERS embassy: Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: American Embassy Managua, APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 252-7100, 252-7888; 252-7634 (after hours) FAX: [505] 252-7304

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Obadiah CAMPBELL Hooker 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

Executive branch

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 (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) 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: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president; percent of vote - Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra 62.5%, Fabio GADEA 31%, Arnoldo ALEMAN 5.9%, other 0.6%

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

Government type

republic

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

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, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly); note - in 2010, President ORTEGA directly replaced seven justices on the Supreme Court

Legal system

civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts

Legislative branch

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

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 1830's until 1876

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

National symbol(s)

turquoise-browed motmot (bird)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance for the Republic or APRE; Conservative Party or PC [Alejandro BOLANOS Davis]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Maria Haydee OSUNA]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Alejandro MEJIA Ferreti]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Enrique SAENZ-NAVARRETE]

Political pressure groups and leaders

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); Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT (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 (an independent labor union); Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP (a confederation of business groups)

Suffrage

16 years of age; universal

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. 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.

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 1,452,107 females age 16-49: 1,552,698 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,227,757 females age 16-49: 1,335,653 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 69,093 female: 67,522 (2010 est.)

Military branches

National Army of Nicaragua (Ejercito Nacional de Nicaragua, ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2011)

Military expenditures

0.6% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 155

Military service age and obligation

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; tour of duty 18-36 months; requires Nicaraguan nationality and 6th-grade education (2008)

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.8% (male 899,555/ female 865,652) 15-64 years: 64.6% (male 1,782,174/ female 1,916,031) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 119,995/ female 144,300) (2012 est.)

Birth rate

19.12 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 97

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

4.3% (2004) country comparison to the world: 90

Death rate

5.04 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 182

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 just above replacement level today, but the high birth rate among adolescents perpetuates a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment. Nicaraguans emigrate primarily to Costa Rica and to a lesser extent the United States. Nicaraguan men have been migrating seasonally to Costa Rica to harvest bananas and coffee since the early 20th century. Political turmoil, civil war, and natural disasters from the 1970s through the 1990s dramatically increased the flow of refugees and permanent migrants seeking jobs, higher wages, and better social and healthcare benefits. Since 2000, Nicaraguan emigration to Costa Rica has slowed and stabilized. Today roughly 300,000 Nicaraguans are permanent residents of Costa Rica - about 75% of the foreign population - and thousands more migrate seasonally for work, many illegally.

Education expenditures

3.1% of GDP (2003) country comparison to the world: 130

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 106

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 500 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 94

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

6,900 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Health expenditures

9.5% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 38

Hospital bed density

0.9 beds/1,000 population (2008)

Infant mortality rate

total: 21.86 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 87 male: 25.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.18 years country comparison to the world: 130 male: 70.07 years female: 74.39 years (2012 est.)

Literacy

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

Major cities - population

MANAGUA (capital) 934,000 (2009)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Maternal mortality rate

95 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 76

Median age

total: 23.4 years male: 22.6 years female: 24.2 years (2012 est.)

Nationality

noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan

Net migration rate

-3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 182

Physicians density

0.37 physicians/1,000 population (2003)

Population

5,727,707 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 108

Population growth rate

1.067% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 109

Religions

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)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 63% of population rural: 37% of population total: 52% of population unimproved: urban: 37% of population rural: 63% of population total: 48% of population

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2003)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.08 children born/woman (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 120

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 8.6% country comparison to the world: 112 male: 8.1% female: 9.7% (2006)

Urbanization

urban population: 57% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Disputes - international

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

Airports

143 (2012) country comparison to the world: 40

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: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2012)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 132 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 115 (2012)

Pipelines

oil 54 km (2010)

Ports and terminals

Bluefields, Corinto

Roadways

total: 19,137 km country comparison to the world: 111 paved: 2,033 km unpaved: 17,104 km (2009)

Waterways

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