Nicaragua (2001) | Venezuela (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* | 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 federal district* (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia
note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141) 15-64 years: 58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096) 65 years and over: 2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 31% (male 3,944,749; female 3,700,799)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 7,931,194; female 7,864,697) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 552,291; female 660,964) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 182 (2000 est.) | 373 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 127
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
171 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 145 (2000 est.) |
total: 246
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 97 under 914 m: 139 (2002) |
Area | total:
129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. 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 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. | Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: an embattled president who is losing his once solid support among Venezuelans, a divided military, drug-related conflicts along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples. |
Birth rate | 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.78 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$734 million expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $21.5 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Managua | Caracas |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
Coastline | 910 km | 2,800 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | 30 December 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela |
Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | bolivar (VEB) |
Death rate | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.4 billion (2000 est.) | $38.2 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033 FAX: [505] (2) 669074 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles S. SHAPIRO
embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Bernardo ALVAREZ
chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question 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; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea; US, France and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest the claim and other states' recognition of it |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $74 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. | Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Despite higher oil prices at the end of 2002 and into 2003, domestic political instability, culminating in a two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy is likely to remain in a recession in 2003, after sinking an estimated 8.9 percent in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.265 billion kWh (1999) | 81.47 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 20 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.349 billion kWh (1999) | 87.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
67.26% hydro: 17.71% nuclear: 0% other: 15.03% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 31.7%
hydro: 68.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage | sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996) | bolivares per US dollar - 1,160.44 (2002), 723.67 (2001), 679.96 (2000), 605.72 (1999), 547.56 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); 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 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years election results: Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33% |
chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - 60% |
Exports | $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold | petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999) | US 53.4%, Netherlands Antilles 17.3%, Canada 2.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $131.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
31.6% industry: 22.8% services: 45.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 50% services: 45% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | -8.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 8 00 N, 66 00 W |
Geography - note | - | on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
16,382 km paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
total: 96,155 km
paved: 32,308 km unpaved: 63,847 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.8% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 36.5% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border |
Imports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) | US 27.5%, Colombia 6.9%, Brazil 5.7%, Mexico 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | -5.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly |
Infant mortality rate | 33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 23.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 31.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1993 est.) | 540 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term) |
Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) | 9.9 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 27% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.99%
permanent crops: 0.96% other: 96.05% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | based on organic laws as of July 1999; open, adversarial court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)
elections: last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government 108 (MVR 92, MAS 6, indigenous 3, other 7), opposition 57 (AD 33, COPEI 6, Justice First 5, other 13) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.05 years male: 67.1 years female: 71.11 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.81 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.07 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 65.7% male: 64.6% female: 66.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.4% male: 93.8% female: 93.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
natural prolongation territorial sea: 200 NM |
contiguous zone: 15 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 714,073 GRT/1,256,667 DWT
ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, UK 1, US 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada - including marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (FY98) | $934 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 0.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 6,767,862 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,870,751 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
58,232 (2001 est.) |
males: 249,319 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 5 July (1811) |
Nationality | noun:
Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds |
Net migration rate | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 56 km | extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,262 km; oil 7,484 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] | Democratic Action or AD [Claudio FERMIN]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Garcia PONCE]; Homeland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNIZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; National Convergence or Convergencia [Juan Jose CALDERA]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Antonio HERRERA]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Oswaldo ALVAREZ Paz]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action) |
Population | 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) | 24,654,694 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 47% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.15% (2001 est.) | 1.48% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | - |
Railways | - | total: 682 km
standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone 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: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: modern and expanding
domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 140,000 (1996) | 2.6 million (however, 3,500,000 have been installed) (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | 2 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.36 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) | 17% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | 7,100 km
note: Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels |