Nicaragua
Land of Lakes and Volcanoes
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is a country in Central America, comprising 130,370 square kilometers (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 7,097,329 as of 2026, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras, and the largest by area in all of Central America. Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The country also shares maritime borders with El Salvador to the west and Colombia to the east. Nicaragua's largest city and national capital is Managua, which is also the third-largest city in Central America after Guatemala City and San Salvador, with a population of 1,055,247 as of December 2020. The official language is Spanish, though different groups on the Caribbean coast (Mosquitia) speak their own languages and English.
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Managua
- Region
- Central America
- Languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Nicaraguan córdoba
- Geographic distinction
- Largest country in Central America
Lore & Background
Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Caribbean region (Mosquitia) followed a different historical path, being an independent kingdom under British protection from the 17th century until 1860 with the signing of the Treaty of Managua, which brought it into a union with Nicaragua, while its northernmost part was placed under Honduras by the Wyke-Cruz Treaty of 1859.
Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, American occupation and fiscal crisis, as well as the Nicaraguan Revolution of 1978–1979 and the Contra War of the 1980s. Though nominally a unitary presidential republic, Nicaragua has experienced significant democratic backsliding since 2007 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega, resulting in large protests in 2018 and a subsequent crackdown. Following the 2021 election, it has been widely described as an authoritarian dictatorship.
It is a developing country and has a GDP per capita that typically ranks higher than several countries in both nominal and PPP measures within the region. Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage.
Reader's Guide
Nicaragua is known as 'the breadbasket of Central America' due to having the most fertile soil and arable land in all of Central America. Known as the 'land of lakes and volcanoes', Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest tropical rainforest of the Americas. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes have made Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío. Nicaragua is a founding member of the United Nations and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
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