Nicaragua

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony 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. By 1978, violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought a civil-military coalition to power in 1979, spearheaded by Marxist Sandinista guerrillas led by Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador prompted the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista Contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. <br><br>After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, ORTEGA was elected president in 2006, 2011, 2016, and most recently in 2021. Municipal, regional, and national-level elections since 2008 have been marred by widespread irregularities. Democratic institutions have lost their independence under the ORTEGA regime as the president has assumed full control over all branches of government, as well as cracking down on a nationwide pro-democracy protest movement in 2018 and shuttering over 3,300 civil society organizations between 2018 and 2024. In the lead-up to the 2021 presidential election, authorities arrested over 40 individuals linked to the opposition, including presidential candidates, private sector leaders, NGO workers, human rights defenders, and journalists. Only five lesser-known presidential candidates from mostly small parties allied to ORTEGA's Sandinistas were allowed to run against ORTEGA. He then awarded the Sandinistas control of all 153 of Nicaraguan municipalities in the 2022 municipal elections, consolidating one-party rule. 

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

13 00 N, 85 00 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly larger than Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than New York State

910 km

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

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

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

1,990 sq km (2012)

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 <strong><br><br>volcanism:</strong> significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (728 m) 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

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

Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Indigenous 5%

Roman Catholic 44.9%, Protestant 38.7% (Evangelical 38.2, Adventist 0.5%), other 1.2%, (includes Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ), believer but not belonging to a church 1%, agnostic or atheist 0.4%, none 13.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.)

0.92% (2025 est.)

16.07 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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

1.095 million MANAGUA (capital) (2023)

19.2 years (2011/12 est.)

60 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.82 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.89 (2025 est.)

0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

0.9 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

23.7% (2016)

56% (2023 est.)

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; drought

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

16.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

164.52 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

15 departments (<em>departamentos</em>, singular - <em>departamento</em>) and 2 autonomous regions* (<em>regiones autonomistas</em>, singular - <em>region autonoma</em>); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Costa Caribe Norte*, Costa Caribe Sur*, Estelí, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas

civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts

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

16 years of age; universal

Alliance for the Republic or APRE<br>Alternative for Change or AC (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)<br>Autonomous Liberal Party or PAL<strong><br></strong>Caribbean Unity Movement or PAMUC<br>Christian Unity Party or PUC (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)<br>Independent Liberal Party or PLI<br>Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC<br>Moskitia Indigenous Progressive Movement or MOSKITIA PAWANKA (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN) <br>Multiethnic Indigenous Party or PIM (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)<br>Nationalist Liberal Party or PLN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)<br>Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN<br>Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or CCN<br>Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)<strong><br></strong>Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN<br>Sons of Mother Earth or YATAMA<br>The New Sons of Mother Earth Movement or MYATAMARAN (operates in a political alliance with the FSLN)

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

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

<strong>description:</strong> 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 has a triangle with the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA in an arc over it and AMERICA CENTRAL in an arc underneath<br><br><strong>meaning: </strong>blue stands for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and white for the land between the two bodies of water<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America

turquoise-browed motmot (bird)

blue, white

low-income Central American economy; until 2018, nearly 20 years of sustained GDP growth; recent struggles due to COVID-19, political instability, and hurricanes; significant remittances; increasing poverty and food scarcity since 2005; sanctions limit investment

$19.694 billion (2024 est.)

sugarcane, milk, rice, oil palm fruit, maize, plantains, cassava, groundnuts, beans, chicken (2023)

food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining

3.6% (2024 est.)

3.225 million (2024 est.)

24.9% (2016 est.)

19.9% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

USA 51%, Mexico 12%, El Salvador 6%, Canada 6%, Switzerland 4% (2023)

garments, gold, insulated wire, coffee, beef (2023)

USA 24%, China 13%, Mexico 9%, Honduras 9%, Guatemala 8% (2023)

garments, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, plastic products, fabric (2023)

multiple terrestrial TV stations, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; nearly all are state-owned or affiliated; more than 300 radio stations, both state-affiliated and privately owned (2019)

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39 (2025)

Armed Forces of Nicaragua (formal name is Army of Nicaragua or Ejercito de Nicaragua, EN): Land Force; Naval Force; Air Force (2025)

approximately 12,000 active Armed Forces (2025)

the military's air and ground force inventories include mostly secondhand Russian or Soviet-era equipment (2025)

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service (16-20 for cadets); no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months (2025)

the military is responsible for defending Nicaragua’s independence, sovereignty, and territory; it also has some domestic security responsibilities, including border security, assisting the police, protecting natural resources, and providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance; Nicaragua has defense ties with Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia; Russia has provided training support and equipment; in 2025, Nicaragua signed an agreement of “mutual protection” with Russia<br><br>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 GARCIA, 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 (2025)

National Secretariat for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Secretar&iacute;a Nacional para Asuntos del Espacio Ultraterrestre, la Luna y otros Cuerpos Celestes, established 2021; operates under the military&rsquo;s control) (2025)

stated mission is to promote the development of space activities with the aim of broadening the country&rsquo;s capacities in education, industry, science, and technology; has cooperated with China and Russia; is a signatory of the convention establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

1994 - joined UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space<br><br>2017 - Russia opened a satellite navigation system monitoring station in Nicaragua<br><br>2021 - signed convention establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency<br><br>2024 - joined the China-led International Lunar Research Station project, which aims to establish a permanent base on the Moon by the 2030s