President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
President: Daniel Ortega
Population
65,630,692
5,727,707
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
72.180 years
Capital City
Paris
Managua
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Managua (population: 973,087)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.699
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$3,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
67.5%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
2.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
18.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
7.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
republic
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$4,073,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
gold cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 19.374 (2008 est.), 18.457 (2007), 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
0
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
