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 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Languages
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Exports
coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
External Debt
$4,073,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
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
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Area
130,370 km sq
2,344,858 km sq
Coastline
910 km
37 km
Climate
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
