ICA 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

Economy Nicaragua

Economy - overview:
Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,
has low per capita income and widespread underemployment.
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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$16.83 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$4.816 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 25.8%
services: 56.8% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
2.261 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 30.5%
industry: 17.3%
services: 52.2% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
55.1 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.4% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
29.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $945.3 million
expenditures: $1.254 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2006 est.)

Public debt:
82.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

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

Industries:
food pr