Country Facts

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica in the south, Honduras in the North, the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Caribbean Sea on the east. The Pacific area is covered with plains, lakes and volcanoes, several still active. The Caribbean coast is more humid and covered with tropical forest. Most of mountains are located in the northern part of the country where coffee & tobacco plantations can be found.

Nicaragua has an area of 129,494 square kilometers, and a land area of 120,254 square kilometers. It has borders with two other countries in Central America: Costa Rica 308 km, Honduras 922 km.

The name Nicaragua has its roots from the Nahualts language, which was the language spoken by it’s people in ancient times. The word Nicaragua comes from the name Nicarao who was the country’s ruler when the first Spaniards arrived. From it’s Nahualts roots (Nic-atl-nahuac) the name means “aquí junto al agua” or “here near the water”. People from Nicaragua are called Nicaraguan for singular and Nicaraguans for plural.

Population: Nicaragua has approximately 5,000,000 inhabitants, with 1.5 millions living in the capital of Managua.
The rest of the population lives in the major cities of the country, including Leon, Matagalpa, Chinandega, Masaya, Granada, Rivas, Jinotega, Bluefields and Puerto Cabeza. There are four ethnic groups: Mestizo 69%, White 17%, Black 9% and Amerindian 5%. The official language is Spanish, but English is widely spoken on the Caribbean. Miskito and other Amerindian languages are also spoken. Nicaragua’s time is 6 hours behind GMT.

Climate:

• Hot and dry in the pacific coast
• Cooler in the northern mountain area
• Hot and humid on the Caribbean side

Seasons:

• Summer from November to April (dry season, no rain)
• Winter from May to November(still warm but rainy season).

Electricity is 110 Volts, 60 Hz. Visitors from Europe an some other countries will need both a converter and an adapter with two parallel flat pins (as the used in North America) for any appliances they plan to bring along.

The national currency is Cordoba. CS$15.70 = US$1.00, March 2004 (It has a variable devaluation with regard to dollar that establishes the Central Bank every month).

The capital of Nicaragua is Managua (approximately 1,500,000 inhabitants).

The National Flag: The white stripe stands for the territory of our nation and represents the purity of our fatherland. The two blue stripes mean our territory is bathed by two oceans.

The National Coat of Arms: The five volcanoes in the republic's coat of arms stand for the five Central American countries, the rainbow for peace and the Phrygian cap for freedom.

National Flower is Sacuanjoche (plumeria rubia). You will see lots of them in the Masaya National Park and active volcano.
The National Bird is Guardabarranco (momotus momota).
The National Tree is the Madroño (Calycophyllum Candidissimum).

The Legal system is governed by a civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts.

Suffrage: 16 years old to be able to vote; universal. Note: In the last presidential elections, more than 92 % of the people voted.

Economy:
Since 1990, Nicaragua has been pursuing a number of impressive economic reforms in different fields of the economy. A lot of the public sector has been sold to foreign companies, to make it more competitive. (electricity distribution, public phone company and cell phone for example)

Nicaragua’s production is dominated by agricultural products: Coffee, bananas, sugar, tobacco, seafood (fish, shrimps and lobsters and more, product of the 2 seas and Lake Nicaragua); rice, cereals, tropical fruits and beef are also important export commodities. This production is used basically for export and domestic consumption. The mainstay of economy is Agriculture, accounted for approximately 32 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP-composition by sector: agriculture 32%, industry 24%, services 44%).

The industrial sector is still small but growing. In the last decade, many companies from Taiwan and North America have been investing in garment factories, beneficiating the “Free Trade Zones” special incentives. Originally developed around Managua, they are now getting settled in the countryside.
Gold, silver and cobalt and salt mining are the main sources of mineral income, managed and exploited mostly by Canadian companies.
The Nicaraguan soil also has oil, and some foreign companies will start to exploit it.

Tourism has grown considerably in the past decade and it is now getting very important in the economy. Thanks to many incentives provided by the government since 1996, companies from North America, Europe and Central America are investing in hotels, resorts, restaurants, tour operators and other services for tourists.

Investments and real estate:
Real Estate has been very successful in the past 6 years: there is actually a “Land rush” to get the best beachfront and Lakeside properties, as well as Islands in Lake Nicaragua, colonial houses in Granada and more. Prices are still very attractive in comparison with Costa Rica, our neighbor.
Nicaragua is definitively a land of many opportunities and your next destination, come to visit us and find out!
As people working with tourists and business travelers for many years in the area, we can recommend you about good investments, as well as warn you from involving yourself in hazardous or risky deals. Our staff has helped many foreigners to invest in Nicaragua and we can provide references from US and European investors.

Is Nicaragua safe?
You might believe Nicaragua is not a safe country. The civil war in the 80’s, placed the country in the headlines for a long time.
Times have changed. According to a very serious survey of the UN, Nicaragua is the 2nd safest country in Latin America after Uruguay. Crime is low, people are friendly and you won’t see aggressive people here. For these reasons, more and more foreigners decided to invest here and made Nicaragua their home… as we did.
Once people arrive in Nicaragua, they realize the cities and countryside of this beautiful country are safer than many cities in North America or Europe. To make up your mind, we invite you to ask people who have come to Nicaragua…

Political facts:
The country reached a stable democracy over 12 years ago. A president is elected every 5 years, as well as the Congress members. The army has been reduced to 12 000 persons, and participates in many social works as the country is perfectly stable. Tourism is a national priority for the government. They offer many incentives, including hospitality chains like the Holiday Inn Select, Intercontinental and others who have opened luxury and modern hotels.

Roads and infrastructure:
The Pacific side has good roads and infrastructure and is currently getting modernized in a spectacular and very efficient manner. The capital of Managua is located 1 hour away from Granada, from the beach and the Montelimar Beach Resort and is only 2 hours away from the northern border of Costa Rica, through the Pan-American Highway. The Caribbean side is slightly less developed with two main cities, Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas. 3 different air companies offer domestic flights to the main cities and tourist areas in the Caribbean side.