Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America (but is still only about the size of the state of New York) and is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Managua is Nicaragua's capital. Costa Rica and Honduras border the country.


In the early 16th century, Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama, and in 1821, the country declared independence from Spain. In 1838, the country became an independent republic.

The Marxist Sandinista guerrillas were brought to power in 1979 after a short civil war, which had begun in 1978. The United States sponsored anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through most of the 1980s because of Nicaraguan aid to rebels in El Salvador.


The Sandinistas were voted out of power in free elections in 1990, 1996 and 2001, but in 2006, the former Sandinista President Daniel Ortega Saavedra was voted into office. The 2008 elections were marked by widespread irregularities. The infrastructure and economy is slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions struggle because of challenges under the Ortega administration.

The next election is in November 2011.

(Ortega)

On average, a Nicaraguan's life expectancy is 71.9 years, which is about six years less than the average American. Ninety-seven percent of the country is Spanish-speaking. About 70 percent of the population is literate (over the age of 15 and able to read and write), compared to the 99 percent of Americans that are literate.

Nearly half of the population is below the poverty line. Forty percent of the population is in control of the highest 10 percent of household income. About 8 percent of the population is unemployed.

*All of this info is from the CIA World Factbook.