Nicaragua (2007) | Ireland (2001) | |
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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 | 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow |
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:
21.57% (male 425,328; female 403,204) 15-64 years: 67.08% (male 1,290,002; female 1,286,312) 65 years and over: 11.35% (male 188,868; female 247,124) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 163 (2007) | 44 (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:
17 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (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) |
total:
27 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total:
70,280 sq km land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for the 26 southern counties; the six northern counties (Ulster) remained part of Great Britain. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, approved in 1998, was implemented the following year. |
Birth rate | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$25.7 billion expenditures: $19.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2 billion (2000) |
Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Dublin |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
Coastline | 910 km | 1,448 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 | 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite |
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: Ireland |
Currency | - | Irish pound (IEP); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Ireland at a fixed rate of 0.787564 Irish pounds per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) | $11 billion (1998) |
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 Michael J. SULLIVAN embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-7122/668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
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 Sean O'HUIGINN chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco |
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 | Northern Ireland issue with the UK (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $245 million (2000) |
Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) | - |
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. | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 9% in 1995-2000. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 38% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending and recovery in both construction and business investment. Over the past decade, the Irish government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in launching the euro currency system in January 1999 along with 10 other EU nations. The Irish economy is in danger of overheating, with the tight labor market driving up wage demands and inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) | 18.414 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 8 million kWh (2005) | 50 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) | 290 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) | 19.542 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
94.42% hydro: 4.23% nuclear: 0% other: 1.35% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff |
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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Celtic, English |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) | Irish pounds per US dollar - 1.0658 (January 2001), 1.0823 (2000), 0.9374 (1999), 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996) |
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 Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next to be held NA November 2004); prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats |
Exports | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) | $73.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products |
Exports - partners | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) | EU 59% (UK 19%, Germany 9%, France 7%), US 20% (2000) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $81.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 38% services: 58% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $21,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | 9.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 53 00 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin |
Highways | - | total:
92,500 km paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,457 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (2001) |
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 27.3% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe |
Imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | $45.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing |
Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) | EU 54% (UK 29%, Germany 6%, France 5%), US 18%, Japan 5%, Singapore 4% (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software |
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.) |
5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2006 est.) | 5.6% (2000) |
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 | Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 22 (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 (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) |
Labor force | 2.204 million (2006 est.) | 1.82 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
services 64%, industry 28%, agriculture 8% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total:
360 km border countries: UK 360 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 68% forests and woodland: 5% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; 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) |
bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); House of Representatives - last held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 29, Fine Gael 16, Labor Party 4, Progressive Democrats 4, others 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 76, Fine Gael 53, Labor Party 19, Progressive Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Green Alliance 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7; note - seats by party in the House of Representatives as of 1 January 2001 were as follows: Fianna Fail 76, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 4, Green Alliance 2, Socialist Party 1, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
76.99 years male: 74.23 years female: 79.93 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: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
continental shelf:
not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 115,554 GRT/135,391 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 22, container 2, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) | Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $738 million (2001 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006) | 0.75% (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,004,469 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
809,808 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
32,287 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun:
Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural) adjective: Irish |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | NA |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 54 km (2006) | natural gas 7,592 km (transmission 1,158 km; distribution 6,434 km) (2000) |
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 | Democratic Left [Proinsias DE ROSSA]; Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Michael NOONAN]; Green Party [Mary BOWERS]; Labor Party [Ruairi QUINN]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Tom FRENCH] |
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.) | 3,840,838 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) | 10% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.855% (2007 est.) | 1.12% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.55 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total:
1,947 km broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998) |
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:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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:
modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 247,900 (2006) | 1.59 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.83 million (2006) | 2 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) | 4.1% (2000) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) | 700 km (limited facilities for commercial traffic) (1998) |