| 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. |
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| GDP | 0.6% (2006) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 25.8%
services: 56.8% (2006 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 55.1 (2001) |
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| Labor force | 2.261 million (2006 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19%
services: 52% (2006 est.) |
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| Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) |
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| Budget | revenues: $1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 8.4% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) |
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Electricity -
exports | 0 kWh (2006) |
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Electricity -
imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) |
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| Oil - production | 14,300 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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| Oil - consumption | 25,200 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | 758.9 bbl/day (2004) |
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| Oil - imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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| Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
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| Exports | $1.714 billion f.o.b.; note - includes free trade zones (2006 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
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| Exports - partners | US 34.1%, El Salvador 14.3%, Honduras 7.9%, Costa Rica 6.1%, Guatemala 5.2%, Mexico 5.1%, Spain 4.2% (2005) |
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| Imports | $3.202 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
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| Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Venezuela 11.9%, Costa Rica 8.9%, Mexico 8.3%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 5.1%, Japan 4.5%, Ecuador 4.2% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $3.763 billion (2006 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) |
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| Currency code | NIO |
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| Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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