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República de
Nicaragua
Republic of
Nicaragua
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 |
 |
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Flag |
Coat of arms |
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Anthem: Salve
a ti, Nicaragua
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Capital
(and largest city) |
Managua
 12°9′N,
86°16′W |
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Official languages |
Spanish1 |
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Demonym |
Nicaraguan |
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Government |
Presidential
republic |
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- |
President |
Daniel Ortega (FSLN) |
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- |
Vice President |
Jaime Morales Carazo |
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Independence |
from
Spain |
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- |
Declared |
September 15,
1821 |
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- |
Recognized |
July 25,
1850 |
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- |
Revolution |
July 19,
1979 |
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Area |
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- |
Total |
129,494 km² (97th)
50,193 sq mi |
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Water (%) |
7.14 |
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Population |
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- |
July 2006 estimate |
5,603,000 (107th) |
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2005 census |
5,142,098 |
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Density |
42/km² (132th)
109/sq mi |
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GDP (PPP) |
2007 estimate |
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- |
Total |
$15.839
billion (109th) |
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- |
Per capita |
$3,200 (128th) |
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Gini (2001) |
43.1 (medium) |
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HDI (2007) |
▲ 0.710 (medium) (110th) |
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Currency |
Córdoba (NIO) |
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Time zone |
(UTC-6) |
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Internet TLD |
.ni |
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Calling code |
+505 |
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Nicaraguaa (IPA:
/ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə/) officially
the Republic of Nicaragua
(Spanish: República de
Nicaragua?·i, Spanish
pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika
ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa]), is a
representative democratic
republic and the largest
nation in Central America.
It is also the least densely
populated with a demographic
similar in size to its
smaller neighbors. The
country is bordered by
Honduras to the north and by
Costa Rica to the south. The
Pacific Ocean lies to the
west of the country, while
the Caribbean Sea lies to
the east. Falling within the
tropics, Nicaragua sits 11
degrees north of the
Equator, in the Northern
Hemisphere.
The country's name is
derived from Nicarao, the
name of the Nahuatl-speaking
tribe which inhabited the
shores of Lago de Nicaragua
before the Spanish conquest
of the Americas, and the
Spanish word Agua, meaning
water, due to the presence
of the large lakes Lago de
Nicaragua (Cocibolca) and
Lago de Managua (Xolotlán),
as well as lagoons and
rivers in the region.
At the time of the Spanish
conquest, Nicaragua was the
name given to the narrow
strip of land between Lake
Nicaragua and the Pacific
Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled
over the land when the first
conquerors arrived. The term
was eventually applied, by
extension, to the Nicarao or
Niquirano groups that
inhabited that region.
The Nicarao tribe migrated
to the area from northern
regions after the fall of
Teotihuacán, on the advice
of their religious leaders.
According to tradition, they
were to travel south until
they encountered a lake with
two volcanoes rising out of
the waters, and so they
stopped when they reached
Ometepe, the largest
fresh-water volcanic island
in the world.
