Outline of Nicaragua

The Flag of Nicaragua		The Coat of arms of Nicaragua

The location of Nicaragua

An enlargeable map of the Republic of Nicaragua

See also: Index of Nicaragua-related articles

The Republic of Nicaragua is a sovereign, representative democratic republic and the most extensive nation in Central America.^[1] It is also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and by Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, while the Caribbean Sea lies to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.

The country's name is derived from Nicarao, the name of the Nahuatl-speaking tribe which inhabited the shores of Lago de Nicaragua before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, due to the presence of the large lakes Lago de Nicaragua (Cocibolca) and Lago de Managua (Xolotlán), as well as lagoons and rivers in the region.^[2]

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over the land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the Nicarao or Niquirano groups that inhabited that region.

The Nicarao tribe migrated to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacán, on the advice of their religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters, and so they stopped when they reached Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nicaragua:

General reference

An enlargeable relief map of Nicaragua

• Pronunciation:
• Common English country name: Nicaragua
• Official English country name: The Republic of Nicaragua
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Nicaraguan
• Demonym(s): Nicaraguan (English), Nicaragüense (Spanish)
• Etymology: Name of Nicaragua
• International rankings of Nicaragua
• ISO country codes: NI, NIC, 558
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:NI
• Internet country code top-level domain: .ni

Geography of Nicaragua

An enlargeable topographic map of Nicaragua

Main article: Geography of Nicaragua

• Nicaragua is: a country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
    • Americas
      • North America
        • Middle America
          • Central America
  • Time zone: Central Standard Time (UTC-06)
  • Extreme points of Nicaragua
    • High: Mogoton 2,107 m (6,913 ft)
    • Low: North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea 0 m
  • Land boundaries: 1,231 km

 Honduras 922 km

 Costa Rica 309 km

• Coastline: 910 km

• Population of Nicaragua: 5,603,000 - 107th most populous country
• Area of Nicaragua: 129,494 km²
• Atlas of Nicaragua

Environment of Nicaragua

An enlargeable satellite image of Nicaragua

Main article: Environment of Nicaragua

• Climate of Nicaragua
• Environmental issues in Nicaragua
• Ecoregions in Nicaragua
• Renewable energy in Nicaragua
• Geology of Nicaragua
• Protected areas of Nicaragua
  • Biosphere reserves in Nicaragua
  • National parks of Nicaragua
• Wildlife of Nicaragua
  • Flora of Nicaragua
  • Fauna of Nicaragua
    • Birds of Nicaragua
    • Mammals of Nicaragua

Natural geographic features of Nicaragua

Main article: Landforms of Nicaragua

• Fjords of Nicaragua
• Glaciers of Nicaragua
• Islands of Nicaragua
• Lakes of Nicaragua
• Mountains of Nicaragua
  • Volcanoes in Nicaragua
• Rivers of Nicaragua
  • Waterfalls of Nicaragua
• Valleys of Nicaragua
• World Heritage Sites in Nicaragua

Regions of Nicaragua

Main article: Regions of Nicaragua

Ecoregions of Nicaragua

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Nicaragua and Ecoregions in Nicaragua

Administrative divisions of Nicaragua

Main article: Administrative divisions of Nicaragua

• Departments of Nicaragua
  • Municipalities of Nicaragua

Departments of Nicaragua

Main article: Departments of Nicaragua

Municipalities of Nicaragua

Main article: Municipalities of Nicaragua

• Capital of Nicaragua: Managua
• Cities of Nicaragua

Demography of Nicaragua

Main article: Demographics of Nicaragua

Government and politics of Nicaragua

Main article: Government of Nicaragua and Politics of Nicaragua

• Form of government:
• Capital of Nicaragua: Managua

• Elections in Nicaragua
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Nicaragua
• Political scandals of Nicaragua
• Taxation in Nicaragua

Branches of the government of Nicaragua

Main article: Government of Nicaragua

Executive branch of the government of Nicaragua

• Head of state: President of Nicaragua,
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Nicaragua,
• Cabinet of Nicaragua

Legislative branch of the government of Nicaragua

• National Assembly of Nicaragua (unicameral)

Judicial branch of the government of Nicaragua

Main article: Court system of Nicaragua

• Supreme Court of Nicaragua

Foreign relations of Nicaragua

Main article: Foreign relations of Nicaragua

• Diplomatic missions in Nicaragua
• Diplomatic missions of Nicaragua

International organization membership

The Republic of Nicaragua is a member of:^[1]

Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) Central American Common Market (CACM) Central American Integration System (SICA) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of 77 (G77) Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Latin American Economic System (LAES) Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) (observer) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Nonaligned Movement (NAM) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Rio Group (RG) Unión Latina United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Confederation of Labour (WCL) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Trade Organization (WTO)

Law and order in Nicaragua

Main article: Law of Nicaragua

• Capital punishment in Nicaragua
• Constitution of Nicaragua
• Crime in Nicaragua
• Human rights in Nicaragua
  • LGBT rights in Nicaragua
  • Freedom of religion in Nicaragua
• Law enforcement in Nicaragua

Military of Nicaragua

Main article: Military of Nicaragua

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief:
    • Ministry of Defence of Nicaragua
• Forces
  • Army of Nicaragua
  • Navy of Nicaragua
  • Air Force of Nicaragua
  • Special forces of Nicaragua
• Military history of Nicaragua
• Military ranks of Nicaragua

Local government in Nicaragua

Main article: Local government in Nicaragua

History of Nicaragua

Main article: History of Nicaragua, Timeline of the history of Nicaragua, and Current events of Nicaragua

• Economic history of Nicaragua
• Military history of Nicaragua

Culture of Nicaragua

Main article: Culture of Nicaragua

• Architecture of Nicaragua
• Cuisine of Nicaragua
• Ethnic minorities in Nicaragua
• Festivals in Nicaragua
• Humor in Nicaragua
• Languages of Nicaragua
• Media in Nicaragua
• National symbols of Nicaragua
  • Coat of arms of Nicaragua
  • Flag of Nicaragua
  • National anthem of Nicaragua
• People of Nicaragua
• Prostitution in Nicaragua
• Public holidays in Nicaragua
• Records of Nicaragua
• Religion in Nicaragua
  • Buddhism in Nicaragua
  • Christianity in Nicaragua
  • Hinduism in Nicaragua
  • Islam in Nicaragua
  • Judaism in Nicaragua
  • Sikhism in Nicaragua
• World Heritage Sites in Nicaragua

Art in Nicaragua

• Art in Nicaragua
• Cinema of Nicaragua
• Literature of Nicaragua
• Music of Nicaragua
• Television in Nicaragua
• Theatre in Nicaragua

Sports in Nicaragua

Main article: Sports in Nicaragua

• Football in Nicaragua
• Nicaragua at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Nicaragua

Main article: Economy of Nicaragua

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 134th (one hundred and thirty fourth)

• Agriculture in Nicaragua
• Banking in Nicaragua
  • National Bank of Nicaragua
• Communications in Nicaragua
  • Internet in Nicaragua
• Companies of Nicaragua

• Currency of Nicaragua: Córdoba
  • ISO 4217: NIO

• Economic history of Nicaragua
• Energy in Nicaragua
  • Energy policy of Nicaragua
  • Oil industry in Nicaragua
• Mining in Nicaragua
• Tourism in Nicaragua
• Transport in Nicaragua

• Nicaragua Stock Exchange

Education in Nicaragua

Main article: Education in Nicaragua

Infrastructure of Nicaragua

• Health care in Nicaragua
• Transportation in Nicaragua
  • Airports in Nicaragua
  • Rail transport in Nicaragua
  • Roads in Nicaragua
• Water supply and sanitation in Nicaragua

See also

	Nicaragua portal
	Latin America portal

Main article: Nicaragua

• Index of Nicaragua-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Nicaragua-related topics
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Central America
• Outline of geography
• Outline of North America

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nicaragua". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 7, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
2. ^ "Origen del nombre de Nicaragua:" (in Spanish). Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Nicaragua. http://www.cancilleria.gob.ni/tmp2007/noticias/mo_capitulo1.html. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 

External links

General

• Nicaragua entry at The World Factbook
• Country profile of Nicaragua by BBC News

Maps

Wikimedia Atlas of Nicaragua

• Maps of Nicaragua at WorldAtlas.com