|
Country
|
Nicaragua | 
Belgium |
|
Leader
|
President: Daniel Ortega
|
King: Albert II Prime Minister-designate: Elio di Rupo
|
|
Population
|
5,727,707
| 10,438,353
|
|
Life Expectancy
|
72.180 years
| 79.650 years
|
|
Capital City
|
Managua
| Brussels
|
|
Largest city
|
| Managua (population: 973,087) | Brussels (population: 1,019,020) |
|
Human Development Index
|
0.699
| 0.948
|
| GDP per capita |
$3,200 US
| $38,200 US
|
|
Literacy Rate
|
67.5%
| 99%
|
|
Corruption Perception Index
|
2.5
| 7.3
|
|
Percentage of Women in Parliament
|
18.5%
| 36.2%
|
| Wealthiest Citizens |
NA
| Albert Frere ($2.4bn US)
|
| Unemployment Rate |
7.300%
| 7.700%
|
|
Death Penalty
|
Abolished
| Abolished
|
| |
|
Political System
|
republic
| federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
|
|
Independence date
|
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
| 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
|
| Religions |
Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
| Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
|
| Languages |
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
| Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
|
| Exports |
coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
| machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
|
| External Debt |
$4,073,000,000 $
| $1,399,000,000,000 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)
| euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
|
| Military Budget as percentage of GDP |
0.600%
| 1.300%
|
| Beijing Olympics Medal Count |
0
| 2
|
| Location |
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
| Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
|
| Area |
130,370 km sq
| 30,528 km sq
|
| Coastline |
910 km
| 67 km
|
| Climate |
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
| temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
|
|
|
|
