Nicaragua is the largest country by area in Central America. In the east, an area of hot, swampy rainforest fringes the Caribbean coast, known as the Mosquito Coast. Inland, the land rises to the cooler highlands. Western Nicaragua, bordering the Pacific, is made up of flat lowlands and scattered volcanoes. Most of the country’s people live here; the rich volcanic soil and warm climate provide ideal conditions for farming. Also in this area are two large freshwater lakes, Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua. Nicaragua lies at the point where two of the Earth’s tectonics plates meet, making it prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Its capital, Managua, was almost completely destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1972.

People

A large number of Nicaraguans are mestizo—of mixed Spanish and Native American descent. Along the Caribbean coast, many more people are descended from Africans who were brought to the Caribbean ports as slaves from the 17th century onwards. These people speak English or Kriol, often with Spanish as a second language.

​​​​​​​Nicaragua has suffered a long history of war and natural disaster; today, it is the poorest country in Central America. Many people live in small, crowded houses and work on their families’ farms. Others move from place to place, finding seasonal work at harvest time. The promise of a better lifestyle has led many people to emigrate to Costa Rica, El Salvador and the USA.

Economy

Since the 1870s, Nicaragua’s most important crop has been coffee, which is grown on the cool slopes of the central highlands. The Pacific lowlands are some of the country’s most productive farmland; here, farmers grow maize, rice, beans and bananas and raise cattle for their meat and milk. Tourism is a growing industry in Nicaragua: its beaches, lakes, rainforests and volcanoes attract over a million tourists each year. As it becomes a more popular tourist destination, more and more foreign companies are investing in the country, helping to boost its economy.

Nicaragua Canal

Plans for a new canal to be built across Nicaragua, linking the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean, have recently been proposed. The 278-kilometre (172-mile) waterway would be longer, deeper and wider than the Panama Canal. The route would pass through Lake Nicaragua. There are concerns over the environmental impact on the lake, the loss of rainforest and wetland habitats and the effects on local inhabitants. Construction works have, for now, been abandoned.

The Mosquito Coast

Nicaragua's Caribbean coast is known as the Mosquito Coast. It was named not after the insect, but the local Miskito people. They were descended from the survivors of a slave ship that had sailed from Africa and was wrecked off the coast in the mid-17th century, and who later intermarried with the local people. The Spanish failed to conquer the region, and so it became a haven for English, Dutch and French privateers and pirates, who attacked Spanish treasure ships in the Caribbean. 
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The British government signed a treaty with what was known as the "Miskito Kingdom" in 1740. British set up plantations of mahogany trees there, to grow and export the valuable wood. The labour was supplied by African and local slaves. For years afterwards, Britain dominated the region. The Mosquito Coast was eventually incorporated into Nicaragua in 1894. In 1960, the northern part was granted to Honduras.

Facts about Nicaragua

Population 7,142,529 (2024 estimate)

Area 130,370 sq km

Highest point Mogoton 2438 m (7997 ft)

Capital Managua, population 1,055,247

Other major cities León (pop. 213,718), Masaya (191,574), Tipitapa (156,523)

Languages Spanish, English, native American languages

Religions Christian (Roman Catholic) 59%, Christian (Protestant) 23%, others and none 18%

Ethnicity mestizo (mixed European / Native American) 69%, white European 17%, black 9%, Native American 5%

Currency Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO)

Chief exports coffee, beef, sugar, peanuts, gold, shrimp, tobacco, cigars, textiles, cotton