##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Western Sahara (2005) - Nicaragua (2003)
Compare Western Sahara (2005) z Nicaragua (2003)
| Western Sahara (2005) | Nicaragua (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
| Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 176 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002) |
| Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
| Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
| Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | none | Managua |
| Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
| Coastline | 1,110 km | 910 km |
| Constitution | - | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
| Currency | - | gold cordoba (NIO) |
| Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | NA | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
| Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | Substantial foreign support |
| Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. |
| Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 17 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
| Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
| Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998) |
| Executive branch | none | chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government 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; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
| Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold |
| Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (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 |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
| Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
| Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
| Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) |
| Independence | - | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
| Labor force | 12,000 | 1.7 million (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
| Legal system | - | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
| Legislative branch | - | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 69.68 years
male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $26 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.2% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 59,903 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | - | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
| Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
| Net migration rate | - | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 |
| Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 5,128,517 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 50% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | NA | 2.03% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
| Religions | Muslim | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
| Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 16 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 140,000 (1996) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 7,911 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
| Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | - | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.