broadcast stations - 64 AM, 2 FM, 14 TV; submarine cables extend to
Australia and Fiji; 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

:New Zealand Defense Forces

Branches:
New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 874,703; 739,923 fit for military service; 30,297 reach
military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $792 million, 2% of GDP (FY92)

:Nicaragua Geography

Total area:
129,494 km2
Land area:
120,254 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than New York State
Land boundaries:
1,231 km total; Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Coastline:
910 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
25 nm security zone (status of claim uncertain)
Continental shelf:
not specified
Territorial sea:
200 nm
Disputes:
territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y
Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; unresolved maritime boundary in Golfo de
Fonseca
Climate:
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain:
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains;
narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Natural resources:
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land 9%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 43%; forest and
woodland 35%; other 12%; including irrigated 1%
Environment:
subject to destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasional
severe hurricanes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

:Nicaragua People

Population:
3,878,150 (July 1992), growth rate 2.8% (1992)
Birth rate:
37 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
57 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
60 years male, 66 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Nicaraguan(s); adjective - Nicaraguan
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Indian 5%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5%
Languages:
Spanish (official); English- and Indian-speaking minorities on Atlantic
coast
Literacy:
57% (male 57%, female 57%) age 15 and over can read and write (1971)
Labor force:
1,086,000; service 43%,