Nationality:
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan

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

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.)

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.)

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.

Population:
5,907,881 (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.57% (male 860,721/female 827,136)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 22.16% (male 657,339/female 651,744)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 38.69% (male 1,081,081/female 1,204,669)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 5.6% (male 153,711/female 177,334)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 4.98% (male 131,965/female 162,181) (2015 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 54.1%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 46.3%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 7.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 12.8% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 24.7 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 23.8 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 25.5 years (2015 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]

Population growth rate:
1% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
18.03 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 58.8% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 1.96% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
MANAGUA (capital) 956,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.7
note: median age at first birth among women 20-24 (2006/07 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
150 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 16.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 88

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.98 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 70.81 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 75.26 years (2015 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 134

Total fertility rate:
1.94 children born/woman (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
80.4% (2011/12)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
8.4% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 55
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.9 physicians/1,000 population (2014)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 99.3% of population rural: 69.4% of population total: 87% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 0.7% of population rural: 30.6% of population total: 13% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 76.5% of population rural: 55.7% of population total: 67.9% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 23.5% of population rural: 44.3% of population total: 32.1% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.27% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
400 (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

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)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
15.5% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 81
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
5.7% (2007)
country comparison to the world: 85
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
4.4% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 82.4%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 83.2% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 223,992
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 14%
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]
note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2005 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 11.9%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 9.8%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 15.6% (2010 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 110