Geography

Picture
  • Located in Central America 
  • Borders Costa Rica and Honduras
  • Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. ​
  • Nicaragua's capital, Managua, is the third-largest city in Central America. ​​
  • Many coastal plains that form into central interior mountains
  • Home of several volcanoes
    • Cerro Negro (Active Volcano)
    • Concepcion
    • Cosiguina
    • Las Pilas
    • Masaya
    • Momotombo
    • San Cristobal
    • ​Telica​
  • The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua
​an increasingly popular tourist destination

 People

Population:
  •  over 6 million

Languages:
  • Spanish (Official)
  • Miskito

Demographics:
  • Mestizo (Mixed Amerindian and White): 69%
  • White: 17%
  • Black: 9%
  • Amerindian: 5%​
​

Society and Culture

Politics and Social Conflict

  • Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a representative democratic republic, and has experienced economic growth and political stability in recent years. Daniel Ortega has been the president since 2007.
​​
  • Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships, the longest being the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family, who ruled for 43 years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional to replace the marines who had long reigned in the country.

  • In 1961, Carlos Fonseca turned back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with two others (one of which was believed to be Casimiro Sotelo, who was later assassinated), founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's apparent corruption, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.

  • On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of the national newspaper La Prensa and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated. It is alleged that the planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime.The Sandinistas took power in July 1979.

  • In response to the coming to power of the Sandinistas, various rebel groups collectively known as the "contras" were formed to oppose the new government. The Reagan administration authorized the CIA to help the contra rebels with funding, armaments, and training. The contras operated out of camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south.

  • They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror amongst the rural Nicaraguan population to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. Several historians have criticized the contra campaign and the Reagan administration's support for it, citing the brutality and numerous human rights violations of the contras. LaRamee and Polakoff, for example, describe the destruction of health centers, schools, and cooperatives at the hands of the rebels, and others have contended that murder, rape, and torture occurred on a large scale in contra-dominated areas.

  • In the Nicaraguan general election, 1990, a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties (from the left and right of the political spectrum) led by Violeta Chamorro, the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, defeated the Sandinistas. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas, who had expected to win.

  • In the 2001 elections, the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Alemán's Vice President Enrique Bolaños succeeding him as President. Subsequently, however, Alemán was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement, money laundering, and corruption;

  • Nicaragua's 2011 general election resulted in re-election of Daniel Ortega, with a landslide victory and 62.46% of the vote. In 2014 the National Assembly approved changes to the constitution allowing Daniel Ortega to run for a third successive term.

Miscellaneous

  • Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti. 
  • The War of Insurrection in the 1970s and the civil war in the 1980s has led to an underdeveloped economy that continues to plague the country.
  • In recent years, the Nicaraguan government has embraced tourism as a means of alleviating the economy.
  • There are plans on behalf of a Chinese company to construct a canal in Nicaragua - one that would be bigger than the Panama Canal.
Works Cited:
  • "Nicaragua Demographics Profile 2011". Nicaragua. Index Mundi. 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  •  "Nicaragua: Economy". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  •  "Población Total, estimada al 30 de Junio del año 2012" (PDF) (in Spanish). National Nicaraguan Institute of Development Information. pp. 1–5. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  •  "Nicaragua". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  •  "Gini Index". World Bank. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  •  United Nations Development Programme (2015). "2015 Human Development Report" (PDF). New York: United Nations. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  •  "Nicaragua, Eternal Land of Poets". Elcomercio.pe. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  •  "The Rediscovery of Nicaragua". Travel Section. New York: TraveThe New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  •  "Background notes on Nicaragua". Questconnect.org. Retrieved 2010-06-26.