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Compare Nicaragua (2004) - Western Sahara (2008)
Compare Nicaragua (2004) z Western Sahara (2008)
| Nicaragua (2004) | Western Sahara (2008) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
| 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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish |
| Airports | 176 (2003 est.) | 9 (2007) |
| 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: 3 (2007) |
| 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: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | about the size of Colorado |
| 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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. |
| Birth rate | 25.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $672.5 million
expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
| Capital | Managua | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
| Coastline | 910 km | 1,110 km |
| Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | - |
| 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: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
| Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | - |
| Death rate | 4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
| Debt - external | $5.833 billion (2003 est.) | $NA |
| 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 |
none |
| 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 |
none |
| 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria |
| Economic aid - recipient | Substantial foreign support (2001) | $NA |
| 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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. |
| Electricity - consumption | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) | 79.05 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 17 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) | 85 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | sparse water and lack of arable land |
| 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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Arab, Berber |
| Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002), 13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) |
| 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 |
none |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold | phosphates 62% |
| Exports - partners | US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
| 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 | - |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 25.4% services: 45.7% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
| Highways | total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
- |
| 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 | - |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
| 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) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
| 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.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| 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 | none |
| Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | - |
| Labor force | 1.91 million (2003) | 12,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
| Land use | arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
| Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | - |
| 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 |
- |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.02 years
male: 67.99 years female: 72.16 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
NA |
| Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
| Merchant marine | none | - |
| Military branches | Army (includes Navy), Navy | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30.8 million (2003) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2003) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,399,356 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 858,022 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 61,869 (2004 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
| Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | phosphates, iron ore |
| Net migration rate | -1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | - |
| 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 | none |
| Population | 5,359,759 (July 2004 est.) | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | NA |
| Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
- |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | Muslim |
| 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.) |
NA |
| Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
| 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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 171,600 (2002) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 202,800 (2002) | 0 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | NA |
| Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
| Total fertility rate | 2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA |
| Unemployment rate | 22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) | - |
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