1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
147,900 km2; 7% arable, 7% prairie and pasture, 50% forest, 36% urban, waste, or other
Coastline
910 km
Land boundaries
1,220 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm (fishing, 200 nm; continental shelf, including sovereignty over superjacent waters)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
69% mestizo, 17% white, 9% Negro, 5% Indian
Labor force
850,000 (1981 est.); 42% agriculture, 13% industry, 23% service industries, 3% construction, 14% commerce, 5% other; 25% unemployment
Language
Spanish (official); English and Indian-speaking minorities on Atlantic coast
Literacy
87% of population 10 years of age and over
Nationality
noun—Nicaraguan(s); adjective—Nicaraguan
Organized labor
almost 39% of Nicaragua's 850,000 economically active citizens are organized; of the seven confederations, five are Sandinista or Marxist oriented; they are—the government-sponsored Sandinista Workers' Central (CST), with over 125,000 members, including state and municipal employees; the Association of Campesino Workers (ATC), which also has 125,000 members; the General Confederation of Independent Workers (CGI-I), with approximately 15,000 members; the Workers Front, with a small membership of about 100; and the Central for Labor Action and Unity (CAUS), with about 3,000 members; the other two unions are the Nicaraguan Workers' Central (CTN), with 25,000 members, and the Confederation of Labor Unification (CUS), with 12,000 members
Population
2,643,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.2%
Religion
95% Roman Catholic
Government
Branches
executive and administrative responsibility formally reside in the three-member junta of the Government of National Reconstruction; in reality, the junta shares power with, and in fact is dominated by, the nine-member Sandinista National Directorate; a 51-member quasi-legislative Council of State was established in May 1980; the country's highest judicial authority is the junta-appointed Supreme Court, comprised of six members
Capital
Managua
Communists
the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN), founded in 1944, has served as Nicaragua's Moscow-line Communist party; it is allied with the Sandinistas; the Nicaraguan Communist Party (Eli Altamirano)—formed in 1967 when it broke with the PSN, splinter Trotskyite and Maoist groups, including the Workers Front and the Movement for Popular Action—have all been viewed as opponents by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)
Elections
the Sandinistas announced in August 1980 that neither national nor municipal elections would be held until 1985 Political parties and leaders: all political parties except those favoring a return to Somozaism are permitted to function; only the Liberal Party, because of its ties to the Somoza family, has been specifically banned; among the parties that have been active under the new government are the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (Alfonso Robelo), the Social Democratic Party (Wilfredo Montalván), the Social Christian Party (Adán Fletes), and the Democratic Conservative Party (Emilio Alvarez Montalván); the Sandinistas have made major strides toward developing a grassroots party apparatus and have formalized their alliance with other leftist parties by creating the Revolutionary Patriotic Front
Government leader
Coordinator of the Junta Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra often acts as government leader on official occasions
Legal system
the Sandinista-appointed Government of National Reconstruction revoked the constitution of 1974 and issued a Fundamental Statute and a Program of the Government of National Reconstruction to guide its actions until a new constitution is drafted
National holiday
Independence Day, 15 September
Official name
Republic of Nicaragua
Other political or pressure groups
the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) is an umbrella group comprising 11 different chambers of associations, including such groups as the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Industry, and the Nicaraguan Institute of Development Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IPC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, NAMUCAR (Caribbean Multinational Shipping Line—Naviera national del Caribe) OAS, ODECA, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Political subdivisions
1 national district and 16 departments
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—cotton, coffee, sugarcane, rice, corn, beans, cattle; caloric intake, 2,446 calories per day per capita (1977)
Budget
1980 expenditures $622 million
Electric power
385,000 kW capacity (1981); 1.35 billion kWh produced (1981), 550 kWh per capita
Exports
$450 million (f.o.b., 1980); cotton, coffee, chemical products, meat, sugar
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$L8 billion (1980), $692 per capita; 71% private consumption, 11% government consumption, 14% domestic investment, 4% net foreign balance (1979); real growth rate 1980, -10.0%
Imports
$822 million (f.o.b., 1980); food and nonfood agricultural products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, transportation equipment, machinery, construction materials, clothing, petroleum
Major industries
food processing chemicals, metal products, textiles and clothing
Major trade partners
exports—21% US, 23% CACM, 28% EC, 28% other; imports—31% US, 23% CACM, 17% EC, 29% other (1978) Aid and Ex-Im Credits: economic—extensions (FY70–80) from US, $223,4 million; other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $144.6 million; military—(FY70-79) from US, $20 million
Monetary conversion rate
10.0 cordobas=US$1 {official)
Communications
Airfields
349 total, 326 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 11 with runways 1,220-2.439 m
Civil air
7 major transport aircraft
Highways
24.126 km total; 1,654 km paved, 2,711 km gravel or crushed stone, 5.427 km earth or graded earth, 14,334 km unimproved
Inland waterways
2,220 km, including 2 large lakes
Pipelines
crude oil, 56 km
Ports
1 major (Corinto), 7 minor
Railroads
344 km 1.067-meter gauge, government owned
Telecommunications
low-capacity radio-relay and wire system being replaced after war damage; connection into Central American microwave net; Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station; 55,800 telephones (2,2 per 100 popl.); 85 AM, 30 FM, and 6 TV stations
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 573,000; 353,000 fit for military service; 3G reach military age (18) annually