Nicaragua

Broadcast media

multiple privately owned terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; of more than 100 radio stations, nearly all are privately owned; Radio Nicaragua is government-owned and Radio Sandino is controlled by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) (2007)

Internet country code

.ni

Internet hosts

296,068 (2012) country comparison to the world: 63

Internet users

199,800 (2009) country comparison to the world: 141

Telephone system

general assessment: system being upgraded by foreign investment; nearly all installed telecommunications capacity now uses digital technology, owing to investments since privatization of the formerly state-owned telecommunications company domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved; fixed-line teledensity roughly 5 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased to roughly 85 per 100 persons international: country code - 505; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

Telephones - main lines in use

320,000 (2012) country comparison to the world: 112

Telephones - mobile cellular

5.346 million (2012) country comparison to the world: 108

Agriculture - products

coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters, cotton

Budget

revenues: $1.776 billion expenditures: $1.656 billion (2013 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-0.3% of GDP (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 51

Central bank discount rate

3% (31 December 2010 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

12% (31 December 2013 est.) NA% (31 December 2012 est.)

Current account balance

-$1.578 billion (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 133 -$1.362 billion (2012 est.)

Debt - external

$4.532 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 123 $4.289 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

40.5 (2010) country comparison to the world: 56 60.3 (1998)

Economy - overview

Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. 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 agricultural and manufactured goods. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports. In 2013, the government granted a 100-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 $40 billion. The economy grew 4.6% in 2013, despite a 33% decline in coffee export revenues due to a coffee rust fungus.

Exchange rates

cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 24.77 (2013 est.) 23.547 (2012 est.) 21.356 (2010 est.) 20.34 (2009) 19.374 (2008)

Exports

$2.401 billion (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 138 $4.581 billion (2012 est.)

Exports - commodities

coffee, beef, gold, sugar, peanuts, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, cigars, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles, apparel, cotton

Exports - partners

United States 25.2%, Venezuela 16%, Canada 13.1%, El Salvador 8.9%, Costa Rica 5% (2013 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$11.26 billion (2013 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$27.97 billion (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 119 $26.74 billion (2012 est.) $25.42 billion (2011 est.) note: data are in 2013 US dollars

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 86.1% government consumption: 10.3% investment in fixed capital: 34.4% exports of goods and services: 38.6% imports of goods and services: -69.5% (2013 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 17.1% industry: 25.5% services: 57.5% (2013 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$4,500 (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 166 $4,400 (2012 est.) $4,200 (2011 est.) note: data are in 2013 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

4.6% (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 66 5.2% (2012 est.) 5.4% (2011 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.8% (2005)

Imports

$5.65 billion (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 122 $5.851 billion (2012 est.)

Imports - commodities

consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products

Imports - partners

Venezuela 18.8% (2013 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

3% (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 107

Industries

food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.7% (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 166 6.6% (2012 est.)

Labor force

3.039 million (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 103

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 31% industry: 18% services: 50% (2011 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA

Population below poverty line

42.5% (2009)

Public debt

50.4% of GDP (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 66 51.5% of GDP (2012 est.) note: official data; data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as retirement, medical care, and unemployment, debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions; Nicaragua rebased its GDP figures in 2012, which reduced the figures for debt as a percentage of GDP

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$1.993 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 122 $1.887 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of broad money

$4.453 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 132 $4.136 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$4.268 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 118 $4.567 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$961 million (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 151 $897.5 million (31 December 2012 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

25.6% of GDP (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 120

Unemployment rate

7.2% (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 77 5.9% (2012 est.) note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

5.035 million Mt (2011 est.)

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

Crude oil - imports

12,910 bbl/day (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 74

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 205

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 174

Electricity - consumption

2.941 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 132

Electricity - exports

43 million kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 83

Electricity - from fossil fuels

57.6% of total installed capacity (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 136

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

8.3% of total installed capacity (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 117

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 156

Electricity - from other renewable sources

34.1% of total installed capacity (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 4

Electricity - imports

10 million kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 107

Electricity - installed generating capacity

1.275 million kW (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 120

Electricity - production

4.159 billion kWh (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 123

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 183

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 160

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 110

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 178

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 181

Refined petroleum products - consumption

30,690 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Refined petroleum products - exports

1,000 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 106

Refined petroleum products - imports

15,830 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 118

Refined petroleum products - production

15,870 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 98

Area

total: 130,370 sq km country comparison to the world: 98 land: 119,990 sq km water: 10,380 sq km

Climate

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Coastline

910 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 1.39 cu km/yr (23%/4%/73%) per capita: 265.9 cu m/yr (2008)

Geographic coordinates

13 00 N, 85 00 W

Geography - note

largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua

Irrigated land

942.4 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

Land use

arable land: 14.57% permanent crops: 1.76% other: 83.66% (2011)

Location

Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (elev. 728 m), which last erupted in 1999, is one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes; its lava flows and ash have been known to cause significant damage to farmland and buildings; other historically active volcanoes include Concepcion, Cosiguina, Las Pilas, Masaya, Momotombo, San Cristobal, and Telica

Natural resources

gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish

Terrain

extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes

Total renewable water resources

196.6 cu km (2011)

Administrative divisions

15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas

Capital

name: Managua geographic coordinates: 12 08 N, 86 15 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Constitution

several previous; latest adopted 19 November 1986, effective 9 January 1987; amended several times, last in 2014 (2014)

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Phyllis M. POWERS (since 24 April 2012) embassy: Kilometer 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: American Embassy Managua, APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 2252-7100, 2252-7888; 2252-7634 (after hours) FAX: [505] 2252-7250

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Obadiah CAMPBELL Hooker (since 23 June 2010) chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, 6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Executive branch

chief of state: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Moises Omar HALLESLEVENS Acevedo (since 10 January 2012); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Moises Omar HALLESLEVENS Acevedo (since 10 January 2012) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 6 November 2011 (next to be held by November 2016) election results: Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra reelected president; percent of vote - Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra 62.5%, Fabio GADEA 31%, Arnoldo ALEMAN 5.9%, other 0.6%

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water note: similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band

Government type

republic

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

International organization participation

BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 16 judges organized into administrative, civil, criminal, and constitutional chambers) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges elected by the National Assembly to serve 5-year staggered terms subordinate courts: Appeals Court; first instance civil, criminal, and military courts

Legal system

civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election) elections: last held on 6 November 2011 (next to be held by November 2016) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 62, PLI/MRS 26, PLC 2

National anthem

name: "Salve a ti, Nicaragua" (Hail to Thee, Nicaragua)

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

National symbol(s)

turquoise-browed motmot (bird)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Carlos CANALES] Conservative Party or PC [Alejandro BOLANOS Davis] Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Indalecio RODRIGUEZ] Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Maria Haydee OSUNA] Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Alejandro MEJIA Ferreti] Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Jose Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra] Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Ana Margarita VIJIL]

Political pressure groups and leaders

National Workers Front or FNT (a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including: Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN) Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT (an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including: Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS) Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN (an independent labor union) Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP (a confederation of business groups)

Suffrage

16 years of age; universal

Background

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential elections, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 1,452,107 females age 16-49: 1,552,698 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,227,757 females age 16-49: 1,335,653 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 69,093 female: 67,522 (2010 est.)

Military branches

National Army of Nicaragua (Ejercito Nacional de Nicaragua, ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2013)

Military expenditures

0.63% of GDP (2012) country comparison to the world: 120 0.53% of GDP (2011) 0.63% of GDP (2010)

Military service age and obligation

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months; requires Nicaraguan nationality and 6th-grade education (2012)

Age structure

0-14 years: 29.3% (male 873,545/female 839,853) 15-24 years: 22.4% (male 657,076/female 652,856) 25-54 years: 38% (male 1,051,656/female 1,173,084) 55-64 years: 5.4% (male 147,405/female 169,618) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 127,699/female 155,849) (2014 est.)

Birth rate

18.41 births/1,000 population (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 103

Child labor - children ages 5-14

total number: 223,992 percentage: 14 % note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2005 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

5.7% (2007) country comparison to the world: 85

Contraceptive prevalence rate

72.4% (2006/07)

Death rate

5.07 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 184

Demographic profile

Despite being one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaragua has improved its access to potable water and sanitation and has ameliorated its life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and immunization rates. However, income distribution is very uneven, and the poor, agriculturalists, and indigenous people continue to have less access to healthcare services. Nicaragua's total fertility rate has fallen from around 6 children per woman in 1980 to just above replacement level today, but the high birth rate among adolescents perpetuates a cycle of poverty and low educational attainment. Nicaraguans emigrate primarily to Costa Rica and to a lesser extent the United States. Nicaraguan men have been migrating seasonally to Costa Rica to harvest bananas and coffee since the early 20th century. Political turmoil, civil war, and natural disasters from the 1970s through the 1990s dramatically increased the flow of refugees and permanent migrants seeking jobs, higher wages, and better social and healthcare benefits. Since 2000, Nicaraguan emigration to Costa Rica has slowed and stabilized. Today roughly 300,000 Nicaraguans are permanent residents of Costa Rica - about 75% of the foreign population - and thousands more migrate seasonally for work, many illegally.

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 58.8 % youth dependency ratio: 51.4 % elderly dependency ratio: 7.4 % potential support ratio: 13.4 (2014 est.)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.6% of population rural: 67.8% of population total: 85% of population unimproved: urban: 2.4% of population rural: 32.2% of population total: 15% of population (2012 est.)

Education expenditures

4.6% of GDP (2010) country comparison to the world: 88

Ethnic groups

mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.3% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 100

HIV/AIDS - deaths

100 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 137

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

9,600 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 106

Health expenditures

10.1% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 26

Hospital bed density

1.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)

Infant mortality rate

total: 20.36 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 88 male: 23.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Languages

Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5% note: English and indigenous languages found on the Caribbean coast (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.72 years country comparison to the world: 130 male: 70.57 years female: 74.98 years (2014 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78% male: 78.1% female: 77.9% (2005 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria (2013)

Major urban areas - population

MANAGUA (capital) 970,000 (2011)

Maternal mortality rate

95 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 76

Median age

total: 24.2 years male: 23.3 years female: 25.1 years (2014 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.7 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2006-07 est.)

Nationality

noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan

Net migration rate

-3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 179

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

22.2% (2008) country comparison to the world: 81

Physicians density

0.37 physicians/1,000 population (2003)

Population

5,848,641 (July 2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 111

Population growth rate

1.02% (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 118

Religions

Roman Catholic 58.5%, Protestant 23.2% (Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%), Jehovah's Witnesses 0.9%, other 1.6%, none 15.7% (2005 est.)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 63.2% of population rural: 37% of population total: 52.1% of population unimproved: urban: 36.8% of population rural: 63% of population total: 47.9% of population (2012 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years male: 10 years female: 11 years (2002)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.99 children born/woman (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 128

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 8.6% country comparison to the world: 118 male: 8.1% female: 9.7% (2006)

Urbanization

urban population: 57.5% of total population (2011) rate of urbanization: 1.94% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Disputes - international

the 1992 (International Court of Justice) ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; Nicaragua and Costa Rica regularly file border dispute cases over the delimitations of the San Juan River and the northern tip of Calero Island to the ICJ; in 2009, the ICJ ruled that Costa Rican vessels carrying out police activities could not use the river, but official Costa Rican vessels providing essential services to riverside inhabitants and Costa Rican tourists could travel freely on the river; in 2011, the ICJ provisionally ruled that both countries must remove personnel from the disputed area; in 2013, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua's 2012 suit to halt Costa Rica's construction of a highway paralleling the river on the grounds of irreparable environmental damage; in 2013, the ICJ, regarding the disputed territory, ordered that Nicaragua should refrain from dredging or canal construction and refill and repair damage caused by trenches connecting the river to the Caribbean and upheld its 2010 ruling that Nicaragua must remove all personnel; in early 2014, Costa Rica brought Nicaragua to the ICJ over offshore oil concessions in the disputed region

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing

Airports

147 (2013) country comparison to the world: 40

Airports - with paved runways

total: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 135 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 119 (2013)

Pipelines

oil 54 km (2013)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Bluefields, Corinto

Roadways

total: 23,897 km country comparison to the world: 101 paved: 3,282 km unpaved: 20,615 km (2012)

Waterways

2,220 km (navigable waterways as well as the use of the large Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua; rivers serve only the sparsely populated eastern part of the country) (2011) country comparison to the world: 40