# Nicaragua — national dossier

Nicaragua — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 42 indicators, each…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/NIC
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Republic of Nicaragua
- Capital: Managua
- Region: Central America, North America
- Population: 6.0 m
- Area: 130,373 km²
- Languages: Spanish
- Currency: Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $22 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $3,173 | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | 4.9% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | 2.1% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 96.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 7.0 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 75.1 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 59.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 2.2 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 87.3% | 2014 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 26.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 64.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 30.9 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 39.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 29.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 18.9 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 8.3% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 0.68 | 2018 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 11.2 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 85.0% | 2023 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 87.3% | 2014 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 2.9% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 109.5% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 70.2% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 30.4% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2015 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 61.4% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 106 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 0.6% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 120,340 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 25.8% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 42.3% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.8 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 50.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 3.8% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 2.7% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 1.1% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 88.7% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.5% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Defense spending | $105 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 12,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:NIC:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/NIC.claims.json

History: "From the Nicarao and the colonial rival cities of León and Granada to a republic shaped by intervention, revolution, and contested power." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/NIC/chronicle.md (6 eras, 22 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Nicaragua — national dossier", terralore.co/country/NIC, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.
