Honduras (2001) | Nicaragua (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro | 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:
42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684) 15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003) 65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
Airports | 119 (2000 est.) | 176 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
107 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 84 (2000 est.) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2006) |
Area | total:
112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. | 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 | 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.134 billion
expenditures: $1.358 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 820 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | - |
Death rate | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.4 billion (2000) | $3.188 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Frank ALMAGUER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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 Hugo NOE PINO chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville |
chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN
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 | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ | 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 - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $419.5 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001. | Nicaragua, one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, has low per capita income, widespread underemployment, and a heavy external debt burden. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual 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. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because of its earlier successful performances under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. High oil prices helped drive inflation to 9.6% in 2005, leading to a fall in real GDP growth to 4% from over 5% in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.232 billion kWh (1999) | 1.848 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 21.8 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 145 million kWh (1999) | 23.3 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 3.319 billion kWh (1999) | 2.887 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
44.71% hydro: 55.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) head of government: President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PN) 40%, other 10% |
chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo was elected Vice President by the deputies of the National Assembly after Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon resigned on 27 September 2005
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005) 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); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE (ALN) 29%, Jose RIZO (PLC) 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN (MRS) 6.44%; note - ORTEGA will take office 10 January 2007 |
Exports | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 758.9 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%, Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999) | US 60.7%, Mexico 8.6%, El Salvador 6.2% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; 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 Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band | 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 | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16.2% industry: 31.9% services: 51.9% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 56% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | - | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total:
15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 42.1% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; vulnerable to money laundering | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | US 19.6%, Mexico 10.3%, Venezuela 9.5%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Guatemala 6.7%, El Salvador 4.5%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 28.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 9.6% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1993 est.) | 610 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | 2.01 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 30.5%
industry: 17.3% services: 52.2% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 54% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 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:
69.35 years male: 67.51 years female: 71.28 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.63 years
male: 68.55 years female: 72.81 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | total:
313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force | Army (includes Navy, Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | $32.27 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | 0.7% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,515,101 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
902,220 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
72,335 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Marias FUNES Valladares, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Carlos URBIZO, president] | Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Mario Sebastian RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional 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 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 [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH | 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 | 6,406,052
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
5,570,129 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.43% (2001 est.) | 1.89% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 2.45 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999) |
total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
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 | 234,000 (1997) | 220,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | 1.119 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.75 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2000 est.) | 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2005) |