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Nicaragua

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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 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. 

Location :

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

Geographic Coordinates Center :

13 00 N, 85 00 W  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -87.69
North 15.03
East -82.74
South 10.71

Area :

total 130 370 square km
land 119 990 square km
water 10 380 square km

Land boundaries :

total 1 231 km
Costa Rica (cr) 309 km
Honduras (hn) 922 km

Coastline :

910.00 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 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 2 438 metres

Natural resources :

copper fish
gold lead
silver timber
tungsten zinc

Land use :

arable land 14.81 %
permanent crops 1.82 %
other 83.37 %

Irrigated land :

610 square km

Natural hazards :

destructive earthquakes hurricanes
lides volcanoes

current issues :

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution 

international agreements :

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

Population :

5 891 199 

Indicators :

Growth rate 1.78 %
Birth rate 23.25 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 2.57 children born/woman
Death rate 4.30 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -1.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 33.80 %
15-64 years 62.90 %
65 years and over 3.30 %

Median age :

total 22.10 years
male 21.70 years
female 22.50 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.00 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.78 male(s)/female
total population 1.00 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 25.02 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 71.50 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 69.35 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 73.75 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.20 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 7 700
HIV-AIDS deaths 500

Religions :

Roman Catholic 58.50 %
Evangelical 21.60 %
Moravian 1.60 %
Jehovah's Witness 0.90 %
other 1.70 %
none 15.70 %

Languages :

Spanish 97.50 %
Miskito 1.70 %

Literacy :

total population 67.50 %
male 67.20 %
female 67.80 %

Country name :

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 NI
ISO Numeric 558
ISO3 NIC
FIPS NU
ccTLD ni
English Nicaragua

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 09 N, 86 17 W
time difference -6.00

International organization participation :

BCIE CACM
FAO G-77
IADB IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IMO
IOC IOM
IPU ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAES
LAIA (observer) MIGA
NAM OAS
OPANAL OPCW
PCA PetroCaribe
RG SICA
UN UNCTAD
UNESCO UNHCR
UNIDO UNWTO
UPU Union Latina
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO

Independence :

1821-09-15 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1821-09-15

Executive branch :

President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 16 540 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 6 298 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -2.90 %
PPP - per capita 2 800 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 17.80 %
industry 25.80 %
services 56.50 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 29.00 %
industry 19.00 %
services 52.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 2 383 000 people
Unemployment rate 5.90 %
Population below poverty line 48.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 43.10
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.00 %
Investment (gross fixed) 30.20 % of GDP
Current account balance - 976 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 1 241 000 000 $
Debt external 4 700 000 000 $
Military expenditures 0.60 % of GDP
Public debt 87.00 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 1.40 %
highest 10% 41.80 %

Budget :

revenues 1 206 000 000 $
expenditures 1 483 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas beans
beef coffee
corn cotton
dairy lobster
pork poultry
rice sesame
shrimp soya
sugarcane tobacco
veal

Industries :

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

Energy :

Electricity Production 3 286 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 2 569 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 63 950 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 29 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 212 bbl/day
Oil Imports 29 570 bbl/day

Value :

2 344 000 000 $

Commodities :

beef coffee
gold peanuts
shrimp and lobster sugar
tobacco

Value :

3 968 000 000 $

Commodities :

consumer products machinery and equipment
petroleum products raw materials

Currency-name :

gold cordoba 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 312 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 3 039 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 32
Television broadcast stations 3
Internet Country code (ccTLD) ni
Internet Hosts 88 742
Internet Users 185 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 11
Pipelines - oil 54 km
Roadways - total 19 036 km
Roadways - paved 2 299 km
Roadways - unpaved 16 737 km
Waterways 2 220 km

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