Facts About the Central American Country Nicaragua

Nicaragua

In the early 16th century the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled by Panamanians as a Spanish colony but the country gained its independence from Spain in 1821, according to the CIA World Factbook. Daniel Ortega and his wife Murillo hold power in Nicaragua and Ortega convinced the Supreme Court and the national assembly to change the rule that a president has term limits, so for the time being, they are unopposed, approaching a dictatorship. A civil war erupted which brought Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979, and the United States became involved in funding the anti-Sandinista movement, which led to a major scandal in the Reagan Administration (more on that later in this paper).

Nicaragua Demographics

There is only one Latin American nation that is poorer than Nicaragua, and that is Haiti. As of July, 2014, there were approximately 5,848,641 people living in Nicaragua and the breakdown of age shows it is a very young nation: 4.8% are 65 years and over; 5.4% are between 55 and 64 years of age; 38% are between 25 and 54 years; 22.4% are between 15 and 24 years; and 29% are 14 years of age or younger (Index Mundi).

Fifty-seven percent of the population lives in urban areas; the infant mortality rate is 20.36 deaths for every 1,000 births; and the life expectancy is 72.72 years (females live an average of 74.98 years and males life an average of 70.57 years (Index Mundi). As for clean drinking water and sanitation, 97.6% of people living in cities have safe drinking water but only 67.8% of the rural population has clean, safe drinking water; only 37% of the rural population has safe sanitation facilities while 63.2% of the urban population enjoys safe sanitation facilities (Index Mundi).

Ethnic groups include "mestizo" (mixed Amerindian and white) (67% of the population); white (17%); black (9%); and Amerindian (5%) (Index Mundi). Ninety-five percent of the population speaks Spanish and 78% of Nicaraguans can write and read; Roman Catholics make up 58.5% of the population; 23.2% are Protestant (of Protestants, 21.6% are evangelicals); 15.7% do not identify with any denomination, and Jehovah's Witnesses are just .09% (Index Mundi).

Nicaraguan Culture

The official website for Nicaragua explains that in the western half of the country the Spanish influence remains strong -- people speak Spanish and practice Catholicism, for the most part. In the eastern half of the country many people speak English and practice Protestantism, and there is a section in the eastern part of Nicaragua that remains "ethically distinct from the rest of the country" (www.nicaragua.com). The people that remain ethnically distinct observe "many of their tribal customs and languages"; they are mainly from the Sumos and Ramas tribes.

Because of the Spanish influence and the Roman Catholic traditions, Nicaragua is the site of "many fiestas based on honoring certain saints"; in fact, every city in Nicaragua has its own "patron saint" (www.nicargua.com).

Nicaraguan Economy

The country has "widespread underemployment and poverty," and textiles and agriculture account for half of the country's exports (CIA). The GDP is $27.74 billion (as of 2013), and the "real growth rate is 4.6% (as of 2013). Main agricultural products include coffee, bananas, rice, corn, sugarcane, tobacco, beef, poultry, shrimp and lobsters; main industries are food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, apparel and petroleum products (CIA).

Nicaraguan Education

School children in Nicaragua have to deal with two few classrooms and crowded conditions in schools, according to the Borgen Project (Ambrecht, 2014). Many children attend classes for a few hours in the morning or in the evening, and "work during the remainder of the day. Poverty (among students and teachers) and too few opportunities are hurting young people's chances in Nicaragua to get a good education.

According to UNIFED just 55% of Nicaraguan children even finish primary school, and for those in secondary school, the rate of completion is very low (Ambrecht). The teacher pay is very low ($266 per month on average) and teachers have a limited selection of supplies to use in classrooms. Ambrecht quotes the Nicaraguan vice minister of education, Jose Treminio, saying: "We are determined to solve educational problems. We have a commitment to make a leap in the quality of education."

Nicaraguan Environmental Issues

Nicaragua is facing some severe environmental problems, including: deforestation (destruction of "vast areas of forest"); acid rain (harmful levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are falling with rain); defoliants (strong chemicals used for weed control are harming healthy plants); dredging (damaging ocean-floor ecosystems); DDT (the insecticide was banned in the U.S. In 1972 but still is used in Nicaragua) (Index Mundi). The World Bank reports that "Environmental health risks impose a significant burden on Nicaraguan's economy," adding up to $2.6 billion NIO (2.4% of the country's GDP (Kemper, 2015).