Country Profile: Nicaragua

Last reviewed: 7 July 2008

Country information

Map of Nicaragua

NICARAGUA TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 130,688 sq km; 50,446 sq miles
Population: 5,142,098 2005: Source: Nicaraguan Statistics and Census Institute
Capital City: Managua (1.1 million)
People: Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed European and indigenous) 69%, white 17%, black (mainly Jamaican origin) 9%, indigenous 5%
Languages: The official language is Spanish spoken by 98% of the population. Other languages spoken include English, Miskito, Creole, Mayanga, Garifuna, Rama.
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 75%, Evangelical Protestants 15%
Currency: Cordoba (C$) which is divided into 100 centavos.
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 Daniel Ortega Saavedra
Prime Minister/Premier: Not applicable
Foreign Minister: Samuel Santos Lopez

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), ( SICA) is the Central American Regional Integration System made up by El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize and was founded in 1993. (ALBA) is the The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas and was spearheaded by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and has Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua as members.

HEALTH

In Nicaragua, the quality of and access to healthcare are directly tied to income levels. Adequate health care is available to those able to pay the high cost. Health care for the urban and rural poor is limited.

Health services are not readily accessible to a majority of the population. In the more isolated regions of Nicaragua, there are almost no physicians. Government clinics are often empty shells lacking adequate personnel, equipment and medicines.

Infectious and parasitic diseases are the leading causes of death. Gastroenteritis and tuberculosis are serious problems. Diseases such as influenza, malaria, typhoid and pneumonia, have returned because of a lack of preventive measures.

Life expectancy: Male: 67.68 years, Female: 71.79 years.
Infant mortality rate: 31.39 per 1000 (2003 est.)

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