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NICARAGUA
The Republic of Nicaragua
 Area:
130,688 sq km; 50,446 sq miles
Population: 5.4 million (est. 2005)
Capital City: Managua (1.1 million)
People: Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed European and
indigenous) 69%, white 17%, black (Jamaican origin) 9%,
indigenous 5%
Languages: The official language is Spanish spoken by
98%. Other languages spoken include English, Miskito, Creole,
Sumo, Garifuna, Rama.
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 75%, Evangelical Protestants
15%
Basic Economic Facts:
Currency:
Cordoba (C$), which is
divided into 100 centavos.
Nominal GDP: 4.3 billion US dollars
(2004)
Nominal GDP per head: 750 US dollars (2004)
Annual growth: 4.2% (2004)
Inflation: 9.3% (2004)
Major industries: Coffee, seafood, beef, sugar,
industrial goods, gold, bananas, sesame
Major Political Parties:
Liberal
Constitutionalist Party (PLC); Sandinista National Liberation
Front (FSLN), Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance-Conservative Party
(ALN-PC), Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) Blue and White
Faction of PLC.
Government: The 1987 Sandinista-era constitution was
changed in 1995 to provide for a more even distribution of power
among the four branches of government. It was amended again in
2000 to increase the number of members of the Supreme Court and
the Controller General's Office and to make changes to the
electoral laws.
Branches: Executive: President and Vice-President.
Legislative: National Assembly. Judicial: Supreme Court;
subordinate appeals, district and local courts; separate labour
and administrative tribunals. Electoral: Supreme Electoral
Council, responsible for organising and holding elections.
Administrative sub-divisions: 15 departments and two autonomous
regions on the Atlantic coast; 145 municipalities.
Head of State: President Enrique Bolanos
Prime Minister/Premier: Not applicable
Foreign Minister: Mr Norman Caldera
Membership of international groups/organisations:
Nicaragua belongs to the UN and to several specialized and
related agencies, including the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organisation (WTO), UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),
World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and
the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). Nicaragua is also a
member of the Organisation of American States (OAS), the
Non-aligned Movement (NAM), International Atomic Energy
Commission (IAEA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),
the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Central
American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
DID YOU KNOW?
- The eastern half of the country was
once a
British
protectorate.
English is still the first language of most people in
this region, and its culture is similar to that of the
Caribbean nations. There is a large population of people
of
African descent, as well as a smaller
Garifuna population.
- The pre-columbian Nicarao came to the
area from northern regions after the fall of
Teotihuacán, on the advice of their priests or religious
leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south
until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out
of the waters, and stopped when they reached
Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the
world.
- A
United States adventurer named
William Walker won Nicaragua’s Civil War so easily that
he saw the chance to take over the country. Walker named
himself president in
1856 and offered the United States a new slave state.
Fearing the possibility of his plans for expansion, several
Central American countries united to drive him out of
Nicaragua in
1857, and he was executed in neighboring Honduras in
1861.
- Nicaragua offered assistance during
World War 2, and was the first country in the world to
ratify the
UN Charter.
- Nicaragua contains 7% of the world's
biodiversity and the second largest
rainforest in the Americas. Close to 20% of the
country's territory is protected as national parks or
biological reserves.
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