Nicaragua Population: 5,359,759 (July 2004 est.) Capital: Managua [ Select Another Country ]

An Introduction to Nicaragua
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. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

The Nicaraguan Flag 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; 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.

Rankings of The Most Populous Countries in the World.

1. China   2. India   3. United States   4. Indonesia   5. Brazil   6. Russia   7. Pakistan   8. Bangladesh   9. Japan 10. Nigeria

11. Mexico 12. Germany 13. Philippines 14. Vietnam 15. Egypt 16. Turkey 17. Iran 18. Ethiopia 19. Thailand 20. United Kingdom

21. France 22. Italy 23. Congo 24. Ukraine 25. South Korea 26. South Africa 27. Burma 28. Colombia 29. Spain 30. Poland

Some interesting facts and figures about Nicaragua. Pop Growth Rate / Year:     • 1.97% Avg. Life Expectancy:     • 67.99 yrs - Male     • 72.16 yrs - Female Phone Lines:     • 171,600 (2002) Televisions:     • 320,000 (1997) Radios:     • 1,240,000 (1997) Internet Code:     • .ni Did you know ... People from Nicaragua are called Nicaraguans