|
Country
|
 Nicaragua | Belarus |
|
Leader
|

President: Daniel Ortega
|

President: Alexander Lukashenko
|
|
Population
|
5,727,707
| 9,643,566
|
|
Life Expectancy
|
72.180 years
| 71.480 years
|
|
Capital City
|
Managua
| Minsk
|
|
Largest city
|
| Managua (population: 973,087) | Minsk (population: 1,742,120) |
|
Human Development Index
|
0.699
| 0.817
|
| GDP per capita |
$3,200 US
| $15,200 US
|
|
Literacy Rate
|
67.5%
| 99.6%
|
|
Corruption Perception Index
|
2.5
| 2
|
|
Percentage of Women in Parliament
|
18.5%
| 32.5%
|
| Wealthiest Citizens |
|
|
| Unemployment Rate |
7.300%
| 1.000%
|
|
Death Penalty
|
Abolished
| Legal
|
| |
|
Political System
|
republic
| republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
|
|
Independence date
|
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
| 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
|
| Religions |
Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
| Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
|
| Languages |
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
| Belarusian, Russian, other
|
| Exports |
coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
| machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
|
| External Debt |
$4,073,000,000 $
| $33,730,000,000 US
|
| Exchange Rate |
gold cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 19.374 (2008 est.), 18.457 (2007), 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004)
| Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar - 2,130 (2008 est.), 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004)
|
| Military Budget as percentage of GDP |
0.600%
| 1.400%
|
| Beijing Olympics Medal Count |
0
| 19
|
| Location |
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
| Eastern Europe, east of Poland
|
| Area |
130,370 km sq
| 207,600 km sq
|
| Coastline |
910 km
| 0 km
|
| Climate |
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
| cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
|
|
|
|