Compare Canada (2006) - Nicaragua (2005)

Compare Canada (2006) z Nicaragua (2005)

	Canada (2006)	Nicaragua (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 provinces and 3 territories; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory	15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); 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: 17.6% (male 2,992,811/female 2,848,388) 15-64 years: 69% (male 11,482,452/female 11,368,286) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,883,008/female 2,523,987) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 37.2% (male 1,036,487/female 999,226) 15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,623,065/female 1,638,017) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 73,935/female 94,370) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products
Airports	1,337 (2006)	176 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 509 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 248 under 914 m: 77 (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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 828 1,524 to 2,437 m: 66 914 to 1,523 m: 355 under 914 m: 407 (2006)	total: 165 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 9,984,670 sq km land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km	total: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative	somewhat larger than the US	slightly smaller than the state of New York
Background	A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. Canada also faces questions about integrity in government following revelations regarding a corruption scandal in the federal government that has helped revive the fortunes of separatists in predominantly francophone Quebec.	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 again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Birth rate	10.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $159.6 billion expenditures: $152.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004)	revenues: $725.5 million expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Ottawa geographic coordinates: 45 25 N, 75 40 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: Canada is divided into six time zones	Managua
Climate	varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline	202,080 km	910 km
Constitution	made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments	9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Canada	conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Death rate	7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$439.8 billion (30 November 2005)	$4.573 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador David H. WILKINS embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg	chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Michael WILSON chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7701 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton (New Jersey), Raleigh, San Jose (California)	chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003) 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	managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; working toward greater cooperation with US in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland	Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; 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 - donor	ODA, $2.6 billion (2004)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$541.8 million (2003)
Economy - overview	As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports. Canada is the US' largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power.	Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs. As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager.
Electricity - consumption	520.9 billion kWh (2003)	2.318 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	22 billion kWh (2004)	6.8 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	33 billion kWh (2004)	15.3 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	566.3 billion kWh (2003)	2.553 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Exchange rates	Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001)	gold cordobas per US dollar - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Michaelle JEAN (since 27 September 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Stephen HARPER (since 6 February 2006) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general	chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government 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; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
Exports	1.6 million bbl/day (2004)	738 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum	coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
Exports - partners	US 84.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.8% (2005)	US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white	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: 2.2% industry: 29.4% services: 68.4% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 20.7% industry: 24.7% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.9% (2005 est.)	4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	60 00 N, 95 00 W	13 00 N, 85 00 W
Geography - note	second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
Heliports	319 (2006)	-
Highways	-	total: 18,712 km paved: 2,126 km unpaved: 16,586 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 23.8% (1994)	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 45% (2001)
Illicit drugs	illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for ecstasy entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	963,000 bbl/day (2004)	27,950 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods	consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	US 56.7%, China 7.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2005)	US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004)
Independence	1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	2.6% (2005 est.)	4.4% (2000 est.)
Industries	transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas	food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births male: 32.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.2% (2005 est.)	9.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, AfDB, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAFTA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	7,850 sq km (2003)	880 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force	16.3 million (December 2005)	1.93 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 2%, manufacturing 14%, construction 5%, services 75%, other 3% (2004)	agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 8,893 km border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use	arable land: 4.57% permanent crops: 0.65% other: 94.78% (2005)	arable land: 15.94% permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001)
Languages	English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%	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, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms) elections: House of Commons - last held 23 January 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Conservative Party 36.3%, Liberal Party 30.2%, New Democratic Party 17.5%, Bloc Quebecois 10.5%, Greens 4.5%, other 1%; seats by party - Conservative Party 124, Liberal Party 103, New Democratic Party 29, Bloc Quebecois 51, other 1	unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.22 years male: 76.86 years female: 83.74 years (2006 est.)	total population: 70.33 years male: 68.27 years female: 72.49 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references	North America	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
Merchant marine	total: 173 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,129,243 GRT/2,716,340 DWT by type: bulk carrier 62, cargo 10, chemical tanker 9, container 2, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 63, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 8 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 3, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, US 2) registered in other countries: 111 (Australia 1, Bahamas 18, Barbados 8, Cambodia 6, Cyprus 2, Denmark 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 28, Liberia 2, Malta 18, Marshall Islands 6, Panama 4, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, US 4, Vanuatu 5) (2006)	-
Military branches	Canadian Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) (2006)	Army (includes Navy, Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9,801.7 million (2003)	$32.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.1% (2003)	0.7% (2004)
National holiday	Canada Day, 1 July (1867)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
Natural hazards	continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Natural resources	iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate	5.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	crude and reined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2005)	oil 54 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]; Liberal Party [Stephane DION]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON]	Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]
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	33,098,932 (July 2006 est.)	5,465,100 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	15.9%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2003)	50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.88% (2006 est.)	1.92% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff
Radio broadcast stations	AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004)	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 48,467 km standard gauge: 48,467 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)	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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	16 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)	general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	18.276 million (2005)	171,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	16.6 million (2005)	202,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	80 (plus many repeaters) (1997)	3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate	1.61 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	6.8% (2005 est.)	7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.)
Waterways	631 km note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003)	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997)

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