Because of you
Young people in Nicaragua are reached using the following ministries:
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- school ministries
About Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Introduction
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 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. The 2008 municipal elections were characterized 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 face new challenges under the ORTEGA administration.
Geography
Location
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
Area
Total Area: 130,370 sq km Rank: 97
Land Area: 119,990 sq km
Water Area: 10,380 sq km
Comparison: slightly smaller than New York state
Land Boundaries: 1,231 km
Bordering Countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Coastline: 910 km
Climate
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Elevations
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: 610 sq km (2003)
Renewable Water Resources: 196.7 cu km (2000)
Total Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): 1.3 cu km/yr (15%/2%/83%)
Freshwater Withdrawal Per Capita: 237 cu m/yr (2000)
Environment
Natural Hazards: destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Environmental Issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environmental 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
Geography Notes
largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
People
Population: 5,891,199 (July 2010 est.) Rank: 107
Age Structure
0-14 years: 33.8% (male 1,013,866/female 976,430)
15-64 years: 62.9% (male 1,847,756/female 1,857,264)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 85,782/female 110,101) (2010 est.)
Median Age: 22.1 years
Population Growth
Growth Rate: 1.784% (2010 est.) Rank: 72
Birth Rate: 23.25 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 79
Death Rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Rank: 204
Net Migration Rate: -1.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 120
Urbanization
Urban Population: 57% of total population (2008)
Rate of Urbanization: 1.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Life and Death
Infant Mortality Rate: 25.02 deaths/1,000 live births Rank: 87
Life Expectancy at Birth: 71.5 years Rank: 129
Fertility Rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2010 est.) Rank: 91
Health and Disease
HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.2% (2007 est.) Rank: 97
People living with HIV/AIDS: 7,700 (2007 est.) Rank: 114
HIV/AIDS Deaths: fewer than 500 (2007 est.) Rank: 95
Degree of Risk for Major Infectious Diseases: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria
Water Contact Diseases: leptospirosis (2009)
Nationality and Culture
Noun: Nicaraguan(s)
Adjective: Nicaraguan
Ethnic Groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Religion: Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
Languages: Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
Education
Literacy (Meaning, age 15 and over can read and write): 67.5% Male: 67.2% Female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): 11 years Male: 11 years Female: 11 years (2003)
Education expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (2003) Rank: 143
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 Geographic Coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W
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
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 9 January 1987; revised in 1995, 2000, and 2005
Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
Executive Branch
Chief of State: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of Government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007)
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 (eligible for a second term so long as it is not consecutive); election last held on 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)
Election Results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.1%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.2%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.4%
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 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS); note - as of 1 May 2009: seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 20, BDN 17, ALN 6, MRS 3, APRE 1, Independent 7
Judicial branch
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Politics
Political Parties and Leaders: Alliance for the Republic or APRE; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Indalecio RODRIGUEZ]; Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Alejandro MEJIA Ferreti]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [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)
International Organization Participation: BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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
Economy
Economy Overview: Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America, has widespread underemployment and poverty. GDP fell by almost 3% in 2009, due to decreased export demand in the US and Central American markets, lower commodity prices for key agricultural exports, and low remittance growth - remittances are equivalent to almost 15% of GDP. 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. 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, and in October 2007, the IMF approved a new poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF) program.
Gross Domestic Product
GDP (purchasing power parity): $16.51 billion (2009 est.) Rank: 131
GDP - real growth rate: -2.4% (2009 est.) Rank: 152
GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,800 (2009 est.) Rank: 167
GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 17.5% Industry: 26.5% Services: 56.1% (2009 est.)
Labor Force
Labor Force: 2.283 million (2009 est.) Rank: 114
Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 29% Industry: 19% Services: 52% (2006 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (2009 est.) Rank: 6.1% (2008 est.)
Note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008
Poverty
Population below poverty line: 48% (2005)
Transnational Issues
International Disputes: memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; 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
