Gini index:
60.3 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.91 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $672.5 million
expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
125.3% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame,
soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products

Industries:
food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles,
clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear,
wood

Industrial production growth rate:
4.4% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
2.549 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
2.388 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
17 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
24,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-859 million (2003)

Exports:
$632 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar,
gold

Exports - partners:
US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico
4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003)

Imports:
$1.658 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products,
consumer goods

Imports - partners:
US 24.9%, Venezuela 9.7%, Costa Rica 9%, Mexico 8.4%, Guatemala
7.3%, El Salvador 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$502 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$5.833 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
Substantial foreign support (2001)

Currency:
gold cordoba (NIO)

Currency code:
NIO

Exchange rates:
gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002),
13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Nicaragua

Telephones - main lines in use:
171,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
202,800 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign
investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radi