Nicaragua (2007) | Togo (2004) | |
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 | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); Kara, Plateaux, Savanes, Centrale, Maritime |
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: 43.9% (male 1,222,622; female 1,214,443)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,455,373; female 1,522,456) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,165; female 82,753) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish |
Airports | 163 (2007) | 9 (2003 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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller 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. | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the European Union initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004. |
Birth rate | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $214.5 million
expenditures: $296.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Lome |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 910 km | 56 km |
Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 |
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: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
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.) | 11.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) | $1.4 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 Gregory ENGLE
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
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 Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
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 | in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) | ODA $80 million (2000 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. | This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) | 614.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 8 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) | 520 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) | 101.6 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% |
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 - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
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 Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, who will be allowed to complete his father's term
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 1 June 2003 (next to be held NA June 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
Exports | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) | Burkina Faso 16.6%, Ghana 15.4%, Netherlands 13%, Benin 9.6%, Mali 7.7% (2003) |
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 | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $8.257 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 39.5%
industry: 20.4% services: 40.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 8 00 N, 1 10 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna |
Highways | - | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 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 | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem |
Imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) | France 21.1%, Netherlands 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.4%, South Africa 4.3%, China 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
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, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages |
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: 67.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2006 est.) | -1% (2003 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 610 sq km (2003) | 70 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 2.204 million (2006 est.) | 1.74 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land: 46.15%
permanent crops: 2.21% other: 51.64% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French-based court system |
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 (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPT 72, RSDD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 53.05 years
male: 51.07 years female: 55.09 years (2004 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: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
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 Benin and Ghana |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
territorial sea: 30 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $32.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006) | 1.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,316,455 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 690,331 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP [leader NA]; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harryy OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
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.) | 5,556,812
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) | 32% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.855% (2007 est.) | 2.27% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Kpeme, Lome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total: 568 km
narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
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: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
Telephones - main lines in use | 247,900 (2006) | 60,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.83 million (2006) | 220,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes |
Total fertility rate | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) | NA (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) | 50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2003) |