Nicaragua
Nicaragua,[b] officially the Republic of Nicaragua,[c] is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising 130,370 km2 (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 6,850,540 as of 2021, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras. Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and a shared maritime border with El Salvador to the west. The country's largest city and national capital is Managua, the fourth-largest city in Central America with a population of 1,055,247 as of 2020. Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage. The country's most spoken language is Spanish, though indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.
Republic of NicaraguaRepública de Nicaragua (Spanish)
- 69% Mestizo (mixed White and Indigenous)
- 17% White
- 9% Black
- 5% Indigenous
- 84.4% Christianity
- 55.0% Catholicism
- 27.2% Protestantism
- 2.2% other Christian
- 84.4% Christianity
- 14.7% no religion
- 0.9% other
- Nicaraguan
- Pinolero/Pinolera (colloquial)
Unitary presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship[5][6][7]
15 September 1821
25 July 1850
1 July 1823
31 May 1838
19 July 1979
9 January 1987[8]
130,375 km2 (50,338 sq mi) (96th)
7.14
51/km2 (132.1/sq mi) (155th)
2023 estimate
2023 estimate
46.2[11]
high
right
Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s.
The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, and music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío. Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes",[13][14] Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest rainforest of the Americas.[15] The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination.[16][17] Nicaragua co-founded the United Nations[18] and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement,[19] Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America,[20] and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.[21]
Etymology[edit]
There are two prevailing theories on how the name Nicaragua came to be. The first is that the name was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao,[22] who was the chieftain or cacique of a powerful indigenous tribe encountered by the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila during his entry into southwestern Nicaragua in 1522. This theory holds that the name Nicaragua was formed from Nicarao and agua (Spanish for 'water'), to reference the fact that there are two large lakes and several other bodies of water within the country.[23] However, as of 2002, it was determined that the cacique's real name was Macuilmiquiztli, which meant 'Five Deaths' in the Nahuatl language, rather than Nicarao.[24][25][26][27]
The second theory is that the country's name comes from any of the following Nahuatl words: nic-anahuac, which meant 'Anahuac reached this far', or 'the Nahuas came this far', or 'those who come from Anahuac came this far'; nican-nahua, which meant 'here are the Nahuas'; or nic-atl-nahuac, which meant 'here by the water' or 'surrounded by water'.[22][23][28][29]
This article incorporates from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
