Geography
Location: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras. Area: 129,494 sq. km. Principal cities: Managua, Leon and Granada. Tourist attractions: Con-vento y Museo San Francisco, El Viejo (Tezoatega), Fortaleza El Coyotepe, Granada, Huellas de Acahualinca, Isla de Ometepe, Parque Nacional Archipielago Zapatera and Playa Madera. Time zone: GMT -6 hours.
People
Population: 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 1.855%
(2007 est.). Sex ratio: 1.001 malefs)/ female (2007 est.). Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant. Languages: Spanish (official), English and indigenous languages on the Carribean coast. Literacy rate: Total 67.5%, Male 67.2%, Female 67.8% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 70.92 years, Male 68.82 years, Female 73.13 years (2007 est.).
Government
Capital: Managua. National anthem:
Salve a ti, Nicaragua. Government type: Republic. Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain). Legal system: Civil law system; Supreme court may review administrative acts. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Daniel Ortega (since 10 January 2007); The president is both chief of state and head of government. Legislative branch: Nicaragua has a unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional. judicial branch: Supreme court or Corte Suprema.
Economy
Currency: Gold Cordoba. Currency conversion: Gold Cordoba per Indian rupee—0.4573 (|une 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity-—$17.33 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 3.7% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$3,1 00 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 9.4% (2006 est.). Exports: $1,714 billion f.o.b. includes free trade zones (2006 est.). Imports: $3,202 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $3,763 billion (2006 est.).
Transport and Communications
Railways: 6 km. Roads: 19,036 km. Airports: Managua International Airport. Telephones: 220,900 (2005). Mobile cellular: I.I 19 million (2005). Internet users: 140,000. Internet country code: .ni. ISD code: 505.