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Compare Nicaragua (2006) - Western Sahara (2003)
Compare Nicaragua (2006) z Western Sahara (2003)
| Nicaragua (2006) | Western Sahara (2003) | |
 |  | |
| 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: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
| Airports | 176 (2006) | 11 (2002) |
| 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 (2006) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2006) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
| 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 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.134 billion
expenditures: $1.358 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
| Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
none |
| 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; 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 | - | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
| Death rate | 4.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $3.188 billion (2005 est.) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861 |
none |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN
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 | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds |
| Economic aid - recipient | $419.5 million (2005 est.) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, has low per capita income, widespread underemployment, and a heavy external debt burden. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because of its earlier successful performances under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. High oil prices helped drive inflation to 9.6% in 2005, leading to a fall in real GDP growth to 4% from over 5% in 2004. | 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. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.848 billion kWh (2004) | 83.7 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 21.8 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 23.3 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 2.887 billion kWh (2004) | 90 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| 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 - 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo was elected Vice President by the deputies of the National Assembly after Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon resigned on 27 September 2005
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE (ALN) 29%, Jose RIZO (PLC) 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN (MRS) 6.44%; note - ORTEGA will take office 10 January 2007 |
none |
| Exports | 758.9 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | phosphates 62% |
| Exports - partners | US 60.7%, Mexico 8.6%, El Salvador 6.2% (2005) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
| 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 - $NA |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 56% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2005 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: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
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 | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | US 19.6%, Mexico 10.3%, Venezuela 9.5%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Guatemala 6.7%, El Salvador 4.5%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2005 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: 28.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.6% (2005 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, IPU, 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 |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 610 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | - |
| Labor force | 2.01 million (2005 est.) | 12,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 30.5%
industry: 17.3% services: 52.2% (2003 est.) |
animal husbandry and subsistence farming 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: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; 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; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
- |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.63 years
male: 68.55 years female: 72.81 years (2006 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: 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 |
| Military branches | Army (includes Navy, Air Force) | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.27 million (2005 est.) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (2005 est.) | NA% |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: 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 | -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | oil 54 km (2006) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Mario Sebastian RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; 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 [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU | - |
| 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 | 5,570,129 (July 2006 est.) | 261,794 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.89% (2006 est.) | NA% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
| 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 (2005) |
0 km |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | 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 (2006 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
| 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: 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 | 220,900 (2005) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.119 million (2005) | 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 | 2.75 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2005) | none |
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