Nicaragua (2004) | Haiti (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,038,887; female 1,001,518)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 1,570,494; female 1,586,706) 65 years and over: 3% (male 71,125; female 91,029) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
40.31% (male 1,421,945; female 1,385,580) 15-64 years: 55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246) 65 years and over: 4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 176 (2003 est.) | 13 (2000 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 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 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.) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total:
27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early the following year. |
Birth rate | 25.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 31.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $672.5 million
expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$317 million expenditures: $362 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Managua | Port-au-Prince |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 910 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
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 Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.833 billion (2003 est.) | $1 billion (1998 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Brian Dean CURRAN embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 223-4776 FAX: [509] 23-1641 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; 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 | claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | Substantial foreign support (2001) | $730.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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 of 1.5% - 2.5% has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy. | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and, combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off in January 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) | 625 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 17 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) | 672 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
52.83% hydro: 47.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002), 13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999) | gourdes per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996) |
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 (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
chief of state:
President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Marie CHERESTAL (since 9 February 2001) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the Congress election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $186 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold | manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes |
Exports - partners | US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003) | US 89%, EU 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 25.4% services: 45.7% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
32% industry: 20% services: 48% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2003 est.) | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 19 00 N, 72 25 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Highways | total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
total:
4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA (2001) | $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | US 24.9%, Venezuela 9.7%, Costa Rica 9%, Mexico 8.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, El Salvador 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2003) | US 60%, EU 13% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 0.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 30.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
95.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2003 est.) | 19% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 1.91 million (2003) | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.) | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total:
275 km border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
arable land:
20% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 5% other: 44% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; about eight seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next election NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, OPL 1, other minor parties and independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.02 years
male: 67.99 years female: 72.16 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
49.38 years male: 47.67 years female: 51.17 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army (includes Navy), Navy | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30.8 million (2003) | $NA; note - mainly for police and security activities |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,399,356 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,635,253 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 858,022 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
888,305 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 61,869 (2004 est.) | males:
87,049 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun:
Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 54 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; 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]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza] | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
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 | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 5,359,759 (July 2004 est.) | 6,964,549
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.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 80% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | - | 415,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990s narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly one-half of the population also practices Voodoo |
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 (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 171,600 (2002) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 202,800 (2002) | 0 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.4 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |