Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520’s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. 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 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Facts at a Glance
Full country name: Republic of Nicaragua
Area: 50,180 sq mi or 129,494 sq km (slightly smaller than New York State)
Population: 5,465,100 (July 2005 est.)
Growth Rate: 1.92%
Capital city: Managua (pop: 1 million)
People: 69% Mestizo, 17% European descent, 9% African descent, 5% Indigenous peoples
Language: Spanish, English Creole, Miskito
Religion: Roman Catholic 72.9%, Protestant 16%
Government: Republic with 15 Administrative Divisions
Independence: September 15, 1821 (from Spain)
President: Enrique Bolanos Geyer

Location, Land, and Environment:
Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America, is bordered in the north by Honduras, in the south by Costa Rica, in the east by the Caribbean Sea, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. This country is “the land of lakes and volcanoes”. It has three distinct regions: the pacific lowlands, the north-central mountains and the Caribbean lowlands, also called the Mosquito Coast or Mosquitía. The fertile pacific lowlands are interrupted by approximately 40 volcanoes and Lago de Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America.

The Lago de Nicaragua is the largest freshwater body in Central American and is the home of a wide variety of unusual fish and the world’s only freshwater sharks, as well as a huge variety of bird life.

The Mosquito Coast is a sparsely populated rainforest area and the outlet for many of the large rivers originating in the central mountains. To date, 17% of the country has been given national-park status.

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Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: sea level, along the coast
Highest point: Pico Mogoton 2,438 m

Weather / Climate:
Nicaragua’s climate varies according to altitude. The Pacific lowlands are always extremely hot, and Managua is considered to be one of the hottest cities in Central and South America. But, the air is fresh and the countryside green during the rainy season (May to November). The dry season (December to April) brings winds that send clouds of brown dust across the plains. The Caribbean coast is hot and wet; it can rain heavily even during the brief dry season (March to May). The mountains of the north are much cooler than the lowlands.
Nicaragua was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, when more than a year's worth of rain fell in in just seven days. A series of violent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the fall of 1999 didn't help the situation much.

History:
The earliest traces of human habitation in Nicaragua are the 10,000-year-old Footprints of the Acahualinca - prints preserved under layers of volcanic ash of people and animals running toward Lago de Managua. Around the 10th century AD, indigenous people from Mexico migrated to Nicaragua's Pacific lowlands, and Aztec culture was adopted by many Indians when Aztecs moved south during the 15th century to establish a trading colony.

The first contact with Europeans came in 1502, when Columbus sailed down the Caribbean coast. In 1522, a Spanish exploratory mission reached the southern shores of Lago de Nicaragua. A few years later the Spanish colonized the region and founded the cities of Granada and León, subduing local tribes. Granada became a comparatively rich colonial city; León became a hotbed of liberalism. The inhabitants of the heavily populated area around Managua put up a fierce resistance to the Spanish invaders, and their city was destroyed. For the next three centuries Managua was but a village.

Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, along with the rest of Central America. It was part of Mexico for a brief time, then part of the Central American Federation, and finally achieved complete independence in 1838. Soon after, Britain and the USA both became extremely interested in Nicaragua and the strategically important Río San Juan navigable passage from Lago de Nicaragua to the Caribbean. In 1848, the British seized the port at the mouth of the Río San Juan on the Caribbean coast and renamed it Greytown. This became a major transit point for hordes of hopefuls looking for the quickest route to Californian gold.

In 1855, the liberals of León invited William Walker, a self-styled filibuster intent on taking over Latin American territory, to help seize power from the conservatives based in Granada. Walker and his band of mercenaries took Granada easily and he proclaimed himself president. He was soon booted out of the country (one of his first moves was to institutionalize slavery) but showed almost absurd tenacity as he repeatedly tried to invade; his efforts set a precedent for continued US interference in Nicaragua's affairs.

In 1934, General Somoza, head of the US-trained National Guard, engineered the assassination of liberal opposition rebel Augusto C Sandino and, after fraudulent elections, became president in 1937. Somoza ruled Nicaragua as a dictator for the next 20 years, amassing huge personal wealth and landholdings the size of El Salvador. Although General Somoza was shot dead in 1956, his sons upheld the reign of the Somoza dynasty until 1979. Widespread opposition to the regime had been present for a long time, but it was the devasting earthquake of 1972, and more specifically the way that international aid poured into the pockets of the Somozas while thousands of people suffered and died, that caused opposition to spread among all classes of Nicaraguans. Two groups were set up to counter the regime: the FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacíon Nacional, also known as the Sandinistas) and the UDEL, led by Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, publisher of La Prensa, the newspaper critical of the dictatorship.

When Chamorro was assassinated in 1978 the people erupted in violence and declared a general strike. The revolt spread and former moderates joined with the FSLN to overthrow the Somoza regime. The Sandinistas marched victoriously into Managua on July 19, 1979. They inherited a poverty-stricken country with high rates of homelessness and illiteracy and insufficient health care. The new government nationalized the lands of the Somozas and established farming cooperatives. They waged a massive education campaign that reduced illiteracy from 50% to 13%, and introduced an immunization program that eliminated polio and reduced infant mortality to a third of the rate it had been before the revolution.

It wasn't long before the country encountered serious problems from its 'good neighbor' to the north. The US government, which had supported the Somozas until the end, was alarmed that the Nicaraguans were setting a dangerous example to the region. A successful popular revolution was not what the US government wanted. Three months after Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, the USA announced that it was suspending aid to Nicaragua and allocating US$10 million for the organization of counter-revolutionary groups known as Contras. The Sandinistas responded by using much of the nation's resources to defend themselves against the US-funded insurgency.

In 1984, elections were held in which Daniel Ortega, the leader of the Sandinistas, won 67% of the vote, but the USA continued its attacks on Nicaragua. In 1985, the USA imposed a trade embargo that lasted five years and strangled Nicaragua's economy. By this time it was widely known that the USA was funding the Contras, often covertly through the CIA, and Congress passed a number of bills that called for an end to the funding. US support for the Contras continued secretly until the so-called Irangate scandal revealed that the CIA had illegally sold weapons to Iran at inflated prices, and used the profits to fund the Contras.

In 1990, Nicaraguans went to the polls and elected Violeta Chamorro, leader of the opposition UNO and widow of martyred La Prensa editor Pedro Chamorro. Chamorro's failure to revive the economy, and her increasing reliance on Sandinista support, led to US threats to withhold aid, but the civil war was over at last. Daniel Ortega ran for president in October 1996, apologizing for Sandinista 'excesses' and calling himself a centrist, but he was defeated by the ex-mayor of Managua, anticommunist Liberal Alliance candidate, Arnoldo Alemán. President Alemán was sworn in January 10, 1997.

In November of 1998, Hurricane Mitch trampled the Atlantic coast of Central America, leaving disaster in its wake. The hurricane washed out roads and destroyed bridges throughout the region. In Nicaragua, heavy rains following in the wake of the storm kicked off a mudslide at Volcán Casita that buried several villages. Over 10,000 people died as a result of the hurricane, one of the nastiest this century. The tragedy prompted several nations to cancel Nicaragua's debt in late 1999, and the country is slowly rebuilding.

The 2000 mayoral elections saw the Sandinistas gain control of 11 out of 17 departmental capitals, and popular FSLN member Herty Lewites easily won in Managua. However, Liberal Party candidate Enrique Bolanos came out ahead in the presidential election in 2001, beating his Sandinista opponent, former president Ortega. Not giving up on Ortega yet, the Sandinistas renamed him as the party's leader in March 2002.

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Social Statistics:

Total fertility rate: 2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 70.33 years
HIV/AIDS Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 6,400 (2003 est.)
Literacy: 67.5% (age 15 and over that can read and write) (2003 est.)
Education: years compulsory - none enforced
(28% first graders eventually finish sixth grade)

Culture:
Earthquakes and war have obliterated much tangible evidence of Nicaragua's cultural heritage, especially its colonial architecture - although León retains many fine old buildings. Poetry is one of Nicaragua's most beloved arts, and no other Central American country can match its literary output. Rubén Darío (1867-1916) is known as the 'Prince of Spanish-American literature,' and recent work by Nicaraguan poets, fiction writers and essayists can be found in most bookshops. Bluefields, the largely English-speaking town on the Caribbean coast, is a center for reggae music. The Archipiélago de Solentiname in Lago de Nicaragua is famous as a haven for artists, poets and craftspeople. Sandinista street art in the form of modernist murals is especially prominent in the university town of León.

Religion:
The predominant religion is Roman Catholic, but there is a scattering of Protestant sects such as the Pentecostals and the Baptists. The Moravian church, introduced by British missionaries, is important on the Caribbean coast.

Language:
Spanish is the main language. English and a number of Indian languages are spoken on the Caribbean coast.

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Food:
A typical meal in Nicaragua consists of eggs or meat, beans and rice and salad (cabbage and tomatoes), tortillas and fruit in season. Most common of all Nicaraguan foods is gallo pinto, a blend of rice and beans. Other traditional dishes include bajo, a mix of beef, green and ripe plantains, and yucca. Another is vigoron, yucca with fried pork skins and coleslaw. Typical Nicaraguan drinks are tiste, made from cacao and corn, and posol con leche, a corn and milk drink. Nicaragua boasts the best beer and rum in Central America.

Suffrage:
Universal at age 16.

Economy:
Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua 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 improving governability, 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 remain moderate to high in 2001.

Economic Statistics:
GDP: $12.34 billion (2004 est.)
Growth rate: 5% (2004 est.)
GDP – per head: $2,300 (2004 est.):
Inflation rate: 9.3% (2004 est.)
Labor distribution: services –52.2%; agriculture - 30.5%; manufacturing – 17.3% (2003)
Major products/industries: Coffee, seafood, sugar, meat, bananas, food processing, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear
Major trade partners: US, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico
Imports: $2.02 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $750 million

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Facts for the Traveler:
Visas: Citizens of the USA do not need visas and are issued a tourist card (US$5) valid for 90 days on arrival.
Currency: gold córdoba
Exchange rate: US $1 = 15.937 (2004 est.)
Time: GMT/UTC minus 6 hours
Electricity: 110V, 60 Hz

Major Cities and Attractions:

Managua
Managua, the capital of Nicaragua is spread across the southern shore of Lago de Managua and is crowded with more than a quarter of Nicaragua's population. It's been racked by natural disasters, including two earthquakes this century, and since the 1972 earthquake the city has had no center. Those returning to Managua after a few years will notice marked changes. An improving economy has produced a construction boom. It will be obvious, however, that the recovering economy has not benefited everyone, as poverty is still widespread.

Several of Managua's attractions stand around the Plaza de la República, including the lakeside municipal cathedral, which has been reconditioned with help from foreign donors and is now open to the public. Near the cathedral is the recently renovated Palacio Nacional, which has two giant paintings of Augusto Sandino and Carlos Fonseca at the entrance.

The Huellas de Acahualinca museum houses the ancient footprints of people and animals running toward the lake from a volcanic eruption. The Museo de la Revolución has interesting historical exhibits with an emphasis on the revolutionary struggle of this century. There are also several lagunas, or volcanic crater lakes, which are popular swimming spots.

Around Managua:
The large volcano at the center of Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya National Park , which still steams and belches, is surrounded by smaller volcanoes and thermal springs. Legends say that the Indians used to throw young women into the boiling lava to appease Chaciutique, the goddess of fire. The Spanish believed it was the entrance to hell, inhabited by devils. Entrance to the park is only 14 miles (23km) southeast of Managua.

The Laguna de Xiloá, a stunning crater lake 12 miles (20km) northwest of the city, is a favorite swimming spot. At El Trapiche, 11 miles (17km) southeast of the city, water from natural springs has been channeled into large outdoor pools surrounded by gardens and restaurants.

Information adapted from the Lonely Planet website, the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia,Human Development Report 1999 & the World Factbook.
(updated 8/05)

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