| Economy - overview | Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. GDP growth of 4.5% in 2017 was insufficient to make a significant difference. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports. Beef, coffee, and gold are Nicaragua’s top three export commodities. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many Nicaraguan agricultural and manufactured goods. In 2013, the government granted a 50-year concession with the option for an additional 50 years to a newly formed Chinese-run company to finance and build an inter-oceanic canal and related projects, at an estimated cost of $50 billion. The canal construction has not started. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $35.392 billion (2019 est.) $36.82 billion (2018 est.) $38.334 billion (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $12.57 billion (2019 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2017 est.) 4.7% (2016 est.) 4.8% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $5,407 (2019 est.) $5,695 (2018 est.) $6,004 (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 22.6% of GDP (2019 est.) 21.9% of GDP (2018 est.) 22.4% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 69.9% (2017 est.) government consumption: 15.3% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 28.1% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 41.2% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -55.4% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.5% (2017 est.) industry: 24.4% (2017 est.) services: 60% (2017 est.) |
| Ease of Doing Business Index scores | Overall score: 54.4 (2020) Starting a Business score: 79.6 (2020) Trading score: 77 (2020) Enforcement score: 58.6 (2020) |
| Population below poverty line | 24.9% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 3.046 million (2017 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 31% industry: 18% services: 50% (2011 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.4% (2017 est.) 6.2% (2016 est.) note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 8.5% male: 6.4% female: 12.9% (2014 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8% highest 10%: 47.1% (2014) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 46.2 (2014 est.) 45.8 (2009) |
| Budget | revenues: 3.871 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 4.15 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 28% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 33.3% of GDP (2017 est.) 31.2% of GDP (2016 est.) note: official data; data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as retirement, medical care, and unemployment, debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions; Nicaragua rebased its GDP figures in 2012, which reduced the figures for debt as a percentage of GDP |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2019 est.) 4.9% (2018 est.) 3.8% (2017 est.) |
| Credit ratings | Fitch rating: B- (2018) Moody's rating: B3 (2020) Standard & Poors rating: B- (2018) |
| Agriculture - products | sugar cane, milk, rice, maize, plantains, groundnuts, cassava, beans, coffee, poultry |
| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.5% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | -$694 million (2017 est.) -$989 million (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $3.819 billion (2017 est.) $3.772 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | clothing and apparel, gold, insulated wiring, coffee, beef (2019) |
| Exports - partners | United States 60%, El Salvador 5%, Mexico 5% (2019) |
| Imports | $6.613 billion (2017 est.) $6.384 billion (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | refined petroleum, clothing and apparel, crude petroleum, packaged medicines, insulated wiring (2019) |
| Imports - partners | United States 27%, Mexico 12%, China 11%, Guatemala 9%, Costa Rica 7%, El Salvador 6%, Honduras 6% (2019) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $2.758 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $2.448 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Debt - external | $11.674 billion (2019 est.) $11.771 billion (2018 est.) |
| Exchange rates | cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 30.11 (2017 est.) 28.678 (2016 est.) 28.678 (2015 est.) 27.257 (2014 est.) 26.01 (2013 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
