Compare Bangladesh (2006) - Nicaragua (2008)

Compare Bangladesh (2006) z Nicaragua (2008)

	Bangladesh (2006)	Nicaragua (2008)

Administrative divisions	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148) 15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters
Airports	16 (2006)	163 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006)	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 152 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007)
Area	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km	total: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Iowa	slightly smaller than the state of New York
Background	Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.	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. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt.
Birth rate	29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $1.027 billion expenditures: $1.336 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Managua geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline	580 km	910 km
Constitution	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times	9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005
Country name	conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan	conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Death rate	8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$20.63 billion (2005 est.)	$3.702 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744	chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr. chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international	discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources	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
Economic aid - recipient	$1.575 billion (2000 est.)	$471 million (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.	Nicaragua has widespread underemployment, one of the highest degrees of income inequality in the world, and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, annual GDP growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. 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 that should create fiscal space for social spending and investment. The continuity of a relationship with the IMF reinforces donor confidence, despite private sector concerns surrounding Ortega, which has dampened investment. 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. Energy shortages fueled by high oil prices, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth.
Electricity - consumption	16.2 billion kWh (2003)	2.929 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	69.34 million kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	17.42 billion kWh (2003)	2.778 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
Environment - current issues	many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Exchange rates	taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)	gold cordobas per US dollar - 18.457 (2007), 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA	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 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44%
Exports	NA bbl/day	1,397 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)	coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
Exports - partners	US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)	US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh	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; 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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 17.1% industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2005 est.)	2.9% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 00 N, 90 00 E	13 00 N, 85 00 W
Geography - note	most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 33.8% (2001)
Illicit drugs	transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	NA bbl/day	15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)	consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)	US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006)
Independence	16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	6.7% (2005 est.)	3% (2007 est.)
Industries	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar	food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
Infant mortality rate	total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2005 est.)	9.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	47,250 sq km (2003)	610 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force	66.6 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2005 est.)	2.262 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)	agriculture: 29% industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use	arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)	arable land: 14.81% permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Legal system	based on English common law	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)	unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are 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 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)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.92 years male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references	Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
Merchant marine	total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)	-
Military branches	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)	National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.01 billion (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.8% (2005 est.)	0.6% (2006)
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
Natural hazards	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Natural resources	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,604 km (2006)	oil 54 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]	Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Alternative for Change or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	National Workers Front or FNT is 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 is 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 is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups
Population	147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)	5,675,356 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2004 est.)	48% (2005)
Population growth rate	2.09% (2006 est.)	1.855% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)	Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	16 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2005)	general assessment: system being upgraded by foreign investment; nearly all installed telecommunications capacity now uses digital technology, owing to investments since privatization of the formerly state-owned telecoms company domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved but teledensity still lags behind other Central American countries; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.07 million (2005)	247,900 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	9 million (2005)	1.83 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	15 (1999)	3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)	5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2007 est.)
Waterways	8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007)

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