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Nicaragua – Important Facts

Nicaragua is a country located in Central American bordering Costa Rica and Honduras. The geography of Nicaragua is coastal plains rising to central interior mountains. The government system is a republic; the chief of state and the head of government is the president. Nicaragua has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation.

Nicaragua’s economy was devastated in the 1980s by the Contra War, which saw the destruction of much of the country’s infrastructure. At the same time, the US staged an economic blockade from 1985 onward. Following the civil war, Nicaragua began free market reforms, privatizing more than 350 state companies and commencing a general trend of economic growth. Inflation has been reduced from a high of 33,603% during the early years of the Sandinista period to more normal levels, averaging an annual rate of 9.5% over the 2000-2010 decade. Growth was slow (3%) in 2001 due to a combination of factors (a global recession, a series of bank failures, low coffee prices, and a drought), and in 2009 the economy actually contracted 1.5% in reaction to the 2008–2012 global recession). But even with the recessions, growth has averaged 3.4% between 2001 and 2011.

The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many Nicaraguan agricultural and manufactured goods. In 2013, the government granted a 50-year concession to a newly formed Chinese-run company to finance and build an inter-oceanic canal and related projects, at an estimated cost of $50 billion. The canal construction has not started.

Important Details

  • Country ISO3 : NIC
  • Country Code : 558
  • Income Group : Lower middle income
  • Lending Category : IDA
  • Region : Latin America & Caribbean
  • Currency Unit: Nicaraguan gold cordoba
  • WTO Member : Yes
  • Trade organisations : DR-CAFTA, WTO
  • world rank : 109
  • Regional Ranking : 18th in the South and Central America/Caribbean Region