Polity · 1840 CE – present
Republic of Nicaragua
República de Nicaragua · Nicaragua · República de Nicaragua
Also recorded as Nicaragua
- Peak recorded area
- 132,606 km²
- 1895 CE
- Rulers on record
- 5
- from 1985 CE
- Data series
- 391
- 1840 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising 130,370 km2 (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras, and the largest by area.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
8 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 1 further extent, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population269 obs · 1820 CE–2025 CE | 7Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 75.27years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -8,371persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.29% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 77.74years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 72.64years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 155 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 5,322int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| Total Exports115 obs · 1900 CE–2014 CE | 5,378.37million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports115 obs · 1900 CE–2014 CE | 6,809.89million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance115 obs · 1900 CE–2014 CE | -1,431.51million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness115 obs · 1900 CE–2014 CE | 12.2Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 22.2Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 36 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0.0003CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 3.5Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel111 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 12Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure % GDP96 obs · 1968 CE–2024 CE | 0.5451% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| Military Expenditure74 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 73Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 61 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 12.49% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 25.82% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 42.31%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.2203hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5.1Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.5Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Rule Of Law Index187 obs · 1838 CE–2024 CE | 0.008index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Electoral Democracy Index186 obs · 1839 CE–2024 CE | 0.153index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index186 obs · 1839 CE–2024 CE | 0.019index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index186 obs · 1839 CE–2024 CE | 0.094index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2173 obs · 1838 CE–2012 CE | 9index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 52 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index187 obs · 1838 CE–2024 CE | 0.026index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios132 obs · 1838 CE–1999 CE | 1,324count1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km125 obs · 1875 CE–1999 CE | 218km1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm56 obs · 1930 CE–1985 CE | 4tonne-km1985 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Passenger Km56 obs · 1930 CE–1985 CE | 66passenger-km1985 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production54 obs · 1948 CE–2001 CE | 2.5BGWh2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
5 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Daniel OrtegaPresident1985 CE – 1990 CE
- Violeta ChamorroPresident1990 CE – 1997 CE
- Arnoldo AlemánPresident1997 CE – 2002 CE
- Enrique BolañosPresident2002 CE – 2007 CE
- Daniel OrtegaHead of State2007 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); head of government: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
- Ethnic groups
- Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Indigenous 5%
- Natural resources
- gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
- Economy
- low-income Central American economy; until 2018, nearly 20 years of sustained GDP growth; recent struggles due to COVID-19, political instability, and hurricanes; significant remittances; increasing poverty and food scarcity since 2005; sanctions limit investment
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- cordobas (NIO)
Memberships
- 5-member Non-Aggression Pact (1907)Historical alliance · member1907 CE – 1918 CE
- 5-member Non-Aggression Pact (1923)Historical alliance · member1923 CE – 1932 CE
- 21-member Entente (1936)Historical alliance · member1936 CE – 1945 CE
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- 20-member Defense Pact (1945)Military alliance · member1945 CE – 1947 CE
- 35-member Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1947 CE –
- 6-member Defense Pact (1963)Military alliance · member1963 CE – 1969 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Nicaragua is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.