NICARAGUA

COUNTRIES A-Z

Nicaragua Economy

Country Name: Republic of Nicaragua

Capital City: Managua

Population: 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.)

Population Growth: 1.855% (2007 est.)

Currency: gold cordoba (NIO)

Languages: Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%

Area:

Inflation Rate: 9.4% (2006 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006)

Domain extension:

ECONOMIC DETAILS OF NICARAGUA

ECONOMY OVERVIEW
Nicaragua has widespread underemployment and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in November 2006 obtained over $800 million in debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. Energy shortages, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth.

GDP - purchasing power parity:

$17.33 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

$3,100 (2006 est.)

GDP - by sector (agriculture):

agriculture: 17.3%

GDP - by sector (industry):

industry: 25.8%

GDP - by sector (services):

services: 56.8% (2006 est.)

Export Partners:

US 66.1%, El Salvador 7%, Honduras 3.9% (2006)

Import Partners:

US 22.6%, Venezuela 10.6%, Costa Rica 7.8%, Mexico 7.3%, Guatemala 6.1%, China 4.9%, El Salvador 4.4% (2006)

Export Commodities:

coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts

Import Commodities:

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

Exports Volume:

$1.714 billion f.o.b.; note - includes free trade zones (2006 est.)

Imports Volume:

$3.202 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Labour Force:

2.261 million (2006 est.)

Unemployment Rate:

3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:

48% (2005)

Inflation Rate:

9.4% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

29.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Public Debt:

82.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture Products:

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

Industries:

food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood

Industrial Production Growth Rate:

2.4% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:

2.778 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - consumption:

2.929 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2006)

Electricity - imports:

69.34 million kWh (2006)

Oil - production:

14,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

25,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

758.9 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

Natural gas - exports:

Natural gas - imports:

Current Account Balance:

-$883 million (2006 est.)

Currency Code:

gold cordoba (NIO)