ion: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 85 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km
water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the state of New York
Land boundaries:
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Coastline: 910 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 25-nm security zone
continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain: extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior
mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
Natural resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber,
fish
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 27%
other: 17% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 880 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and
occasionally severe hurricanes
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water
pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
@Nicaragua:People
Population: 4,812,569 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 971,580; female 936,888)
15-64 years: 57% (male 1,372,169; female 1,392,861)
65 years and over: 3% (male 60,539; female 78,532) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.2% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 28.26 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.74 years
male: 66.81 years
female: 70.77 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.
|