Nicaragua (2007) | Gibraltar (2001) | |
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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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:
18.73% (male 2,652; female 2,528) 15-64 years: 66.33% (male 9,473; female 8,866) 65 years and over: 14.94% (male 1,733; female 2,397) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | none |
Airports | 163 (2007) | 1 (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 (2007) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 152
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total:
6.5 sq km land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a 1967 referendum, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. |
Birth rate | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.25 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$307 million expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Gibraltar |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers |
Coastline | 910 km | 12 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 | 30 May 1969 |
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: Gibraltar |
Currency | - | Gibraltar pound (GIP) |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | source of friction between Spain and the UK |
Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) | $NA |
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. | Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 11% to the local economy. The financial sector accounts for 20% of GDP; tourism (almost 6 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) | 88.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 8 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) | 95 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | limited natural freshwater resources; large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief David DURIE (since 5 April 2000); note - DURIE was appointed in February 2000 but took office in April 2000 head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister; note - there is also a Gibraltar Council that advises the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister appointed by the governor |
Exports | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) | $81.1 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) | UK, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, Germany |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 36 11 N, 5 22 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
Highways | - | total:
46.25 km paved: 46.25 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | $492 million (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) | UK, Spain, Japan, Netherlands |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | tourism, banking and finance, ship-building and repairing; support to large UK naval and air bases; tobacco, mineral water, beer, canned fish |
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.) |
5.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (1998) |
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 | Interpol (subbureau) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (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) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 2.204 million (2006 est.) | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
services 60%, industry 40%, agriculture NEGL% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total:
1.2 km border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
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 House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, one appointed for the Speaker, and two ex officio members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
79.09 years male: 76.23 years female: 82.1 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:
NA total population: above 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
territorial sea:
3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 669,056 GRT/1,003,809 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, chemical tanker 6, container 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) | British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Commonwealth Day, second Monday of March |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun:
Gibraltarian(s) adjective: Gibraltar |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | NA |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 54 km (2006) | 0 km |
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 | Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] |
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 | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Housewives Association |
Population | 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.) | 27,649 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.855% (2007 est.) | 0.24% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Gibraltar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 37,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total:
NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991) |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more |
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:
adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 247,900 (2006) | 19,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.83 million (2006) | 1,620 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar |
Total fertility rate | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) | 13.5% (1996) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) | none |