República de NicaraguaRepublic of Nicaragua
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Salve a ti, Nicaragua
Capital (and largest city)		Managua 12°9′N, 86°16′W
Official languages		Spanish1
Demonym		Nicaraguan
Government		Republic
-	President	Daniel Ortega (FSLN)
-	Vice President	Jaime Morales Carazo
Independence		from Spain
-	Declared	September 15, 1821
-	Recognized	July 25, 1850
Area
-	Total	129,494 km² (97th) 50,193 sq mi
-	Water (%)	7.14
Population
-	July 2006 estimate	5,603,000 (107th)
-	2005 census	5,142,098
-	Density	42 /km² (157th) 109 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$20.996 billion (108th)
-	Per capita	$3,636 (119th)
Gini (2001)		43.1 (medium)
HDI (2006)		0.698 (medium) (112th)
Currency		Córdoba (NIO)
Time zone		(UTC-6)
Internet TLD		.ni
Calling code		+505
1	English and indigenous languages on Caribbean coast also spoken.

Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua, IPA ) is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America. It is also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and by Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, while the Caribbean Sea lies to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.

The country's name is derived from Nicarao, the name of the Nahuatl-speaking tribe which inhabited the shores of Lago de Nicaragua before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, due to the presence of the large lakes Lago de Nicaragua (Cocibolca) and Lago de Managua (Xolotlán), as well as lagoons and rivers in the region.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over the land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the Nicarao or Niquirano groups that inhabited that region.

The Nicarao tribe migrated to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacán, on the advice of their religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters, and so they stopped when they reached Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-Columbian history 1.2 The Spanish conquest 1.3 From colony to nation 1.4 United States involvement (1909 - 1933) 1.5 The Somoza Dynasty (1936 - 1979) 1.6 The Nicaraguan revolution 1.7 Sandinistas and the Contras 2 Politics 2.1 1990s and the post-Sandinista era 3 Departments and municipalities 4 Geography 4.1 Pacific lowlands 4.2 Central highlands 4.3 Atlantic lowlands 5 Economy 5.1 Components of the economy 6 Tourism 7 Demographics 7.1 Population 7.2 Ethnic groups 7.3 Immigration 8 Culture 8.1 Language 8.2 Religion Nicaragua Pictures Note: Pictures above courtesy of Flickr.Com
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