Isle of Man (2002) | Nicaragua (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | 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: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 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 | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 176 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. | 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 | 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
revenues: $725.5 million
expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Douglas | Managua |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 160 km | 910 km |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound | - |
Death rate | 11.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.573 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none | 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 | $NA | $541.8 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | 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 | - | 2.318 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 6.8 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 15.3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 2.553 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound | 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: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since NA 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald |
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 | $NA | 738 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | UK | US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | 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 - $1.4 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 20.7%
industry: 24.7% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 13.5% (1999 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 18,712 km
paved: 2,126 km unpaved: 16,586 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $NA | 27,950 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | UK | 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 | none (British crown dependency) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY96/97 ) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 36,610 (1998) | 1.93 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
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: 77.81 years
male: 74.44 years female: 81.36 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.33 years
male: 68.27 years female: 72.49 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army (includes Navy, Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $32.8 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.7% (2004) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | NA | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | none | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
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 | none | 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 | 73,873 (July 2002 est.) | 5,465,100 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2002 est.) | 1.92% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | total: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001) | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
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 | 51,000 (1999) | 171,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 202,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (February 2002 ) | 7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) |