Nicaragua (2002) | Poland (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 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* | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.3% (male 980,621; female 945,386)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,464,468; female 1,483,082) 65 years and over: 3% (male 65,610; female 84,651) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.1% (male 3,388,247; female 3,216,085)
15-64 years: 70% (male 13,454,820; female 13,591,814) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,896,940; female 3,078,443) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork |
Airports | 182 (2001) | 122 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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 (2002) |
total: 84
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 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 (2002) |
total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than New Mexico |
Background | 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. | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. |
Birth rate | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $39.13 billion
expenditures: $48.64 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | Managua | Warsaw |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
Coastline | 910 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997 |
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: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | zloty (PLN) |
Death rate | 4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.97 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.1 billion (2001 est.) | $86.82 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 268-0123 FAX: [505] 266-9943 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos J. ULVERT
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 Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | EU structural adjustment funds (2000) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is extremely unequal. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic 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 move up in 2002 because of increased private investment and recovery in the global economy. | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on privatization of Poland's remaining state sector, the reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in a nationwide referendum in November 2003, 77% of the voters voted in favor of Poland's EU accession, now scheduled for May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the euro, while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the three Baltic states. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.176 billion kWh (2000) | 118.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 11.04 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (2000) | 4.306 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.233 billion kWh (2000) | 135 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 9% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government |
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: Air Pollution, 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, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other 2.7% (2002) |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 13.88 (January 2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.69 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997) | zlotych per US dollar - 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000), 3.9671 (1999)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
Executive branch | 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 (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Jerzy HAUSNER (since 11 June 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
Exports | $609.5 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold | machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live animals 8.5% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 57.7%, Germany 5.3%, Canada 4.2%, Costa Rica 3.3%, Honduras 3% (2000) | Germany 32.3%, France 6.1%, Italy 5.8%, UK 5%, Netherlands 4.5%, Czech Republic 4.1% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $427.1 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33%
industry: 23% services: 44% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 31% services: 65.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 3.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
Heliports | - | 3 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 16,382 km
paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
total: 364,656 km
paved: 249,060 km (including 358 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,596 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 49% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 23.9%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Venezuela 9.9%, Guatemala 7.9%, Mexico 5.9% (2000) | Germany 24.4%, Italy 8.5%, Russia 7.7%, France 7.1%, China 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 8.6% (2003) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 32.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 0.7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, 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), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) |
Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) (1999) | 16.92 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture 27.5%, industry 22.1%, services 50.4% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Polish |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
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 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 1 |
bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Sejm elections last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005); Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO 12.7%, Samoobrona 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004) - SLD 154, PO 56, PiS 44, PSL 40, SDPL 33, SO 30, LPR 25, UP 15, PLD 11, SKL 6, RKN 5, Dom Ojczysty 4, PP 3, ROP 3, German minorities 2, independents 26; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 10 December 2004)- SLD-UP 74, Block Senate 2001 10, PSL and unaffiliated 5, UW 4, SO 2, LPR 2, independents 2, PiS 1 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.37 years
male: 67.39 years female: 71.44 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.16 years
male: 70.04 years female: 78.52 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.2% (1999) male: 67.1% female: 70.5% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Central Europe, east of Germany |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 3, chemical tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 100 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (FY98) | $3.5 billion (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 1.71% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,308,430 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 10,291,628 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 802,779 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 8,034,577 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 58,232 (2002 est.) | males: 329,743 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | flooding |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 56 km | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) |
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] | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Citizens Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Coalition Electoral Action Solidarity of the Right or AWSP; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL-RNP [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Krzysztof JANIK]; Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Bloc or PBL [Wojciech MOJZESOWICZ]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI]; Polish Raison d'Etat or PRS [Piotr MUSIAL]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUAGA-NOWACKA] |
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 | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Maciej MANICKI]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
Population | 5,023,818 (July 2002 est.) | 38,626,349 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 18.4% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.09% (2002 est.) | 0.02% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge note: carries mostly passengers from Chichigalpa to Ingenio San Antonio (2001) |
total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (11,962 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5% |
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: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 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: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 140,000 (1996) | 12.3 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | 17.4 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% plus considerable underemployment (2001 est.) | 20% (2003) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003) |