Nicaragua (2007) | Benin (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
Airports | 163 (2007) | 5 (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 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 152
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. |
Birth rate | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $377.4 million
expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 910 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 | December 1990 |
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 Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr.
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 Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
Disputes - international | memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; 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 | two villages are in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, but states accept 2001 arbitration over disputed Niger River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved the boundary stones - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) | $342.6 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua has widespread underemployment and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. 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 and in November 2006 obtained over $800 million in debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank. 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. Energy shortages, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) | 631.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 8 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) | 376 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) | 274.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 14.2%
hydro: 85.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007) 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 so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44% |
chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
Exports | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) | India 25%, Italy 11.1%, Indonesia 7.4%, China 7.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Brazil 6.1%, UK 4.4%, Niger 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.38 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 15% services: 47% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
Highways | - | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (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 | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure |
Imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) | China 30.7%, France 15.7%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2006 est.) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 4 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 610 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | 2.204 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land: 15.28%
permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 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) |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 51.08 years
male: 50.35 years female: 51.84 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: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) | Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $80.8 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006) | 2.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | note: both sexes are liable for military service
males age 15-49: 1,597,562 females age 15-49: 1,536,036 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 805,603
females age 15-49: 809,961 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 75,021
females: 78,998 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; 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 | African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
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 | NA |
Population | 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.) | 7,041,490
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) | 37% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.855% (2007 est.) | 2.95% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 247,900 (2006) | 51,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.83 million (2006) | 55,500 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) | 1;; (2001) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally |