Nicaragua

Partners situated in Nicaragua

None.

Nicaragua in a nutshell

Nicaragua - officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua?) - is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 sq km, about the size of the state of New York. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, the Caribbean Sea to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere. Nicaragua's capital city is Managua.

The origin of the name Nicaragua is unclear; one theory is that it was coined by Spanish colonists based upon the name of the local chief at that time, Nicarao; another is that it may have meant "surrounded by water" in an indigenous language (this could either be a reference to its two large freshwater lakes, Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, or to the fact that it bounded on the east and the west by oceans).

The population of Nicaragua is 5,785,846 (source: http://www.exportnicaragua.com)

Politics of Nicaragua takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Currently, Nicaragua's major political parties have been discussing the possibility of going from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. This way, there would be a clear differentiation between the head of government (Prime Minister) and the head of state (President).

For administrative purposes Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments (departamentos) and two self-governing regions (autonomous communities) based on the Spanish model. The departments are then subdivided into 153 municipios (municipalities). The two autonomous regions are 'Región Autónoma Atlántico Norte' and 'Región Autónoma Atlántico Sur', often referred to as RAAN and RAAS, respectively.

Nicaragua's population has a comprises mainly 69% mestizo, 17% white, 9% black and 5% amerindian; this fluctuates with changes in migration patterns. The population is 54% urban.

The most populous city in Nicaragua is the capital, Managua, with a population of 1.2 million (2005). As of 2005, over 4.4 million inhabitants live in the Pacific, Central and North regions, 2.7 in the Pacific region alone, while inhabitants in the Caribbean region reached an estimated 700,000.[81]

There is a growing expatriate community, the majority of whom move for business, investment or retirement from United States, Canada, Europe, Taiwan, and other countries; the majority have settled in Managua, Granada and San Juan del Sur.

Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the country's population. In Nicaragua the Voseo form is common, as also in Argentina, Uruguay and coastal Colombia. In the Caribbean coast many Afro-Nicaraguans and creoles speak English and creole English as their first language. Also in the Caribbean coast, many Indigenous people speak their native languages, such as the Miskito, Sumo, Rama and Garifuna language. In addition, many ethnic groups in Nicaragua have maintained their ancestral languages, while also speaking Spanish or English; these include Chinese, Arabic, German, and Italian.

Religion is a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and is referred to in the constitution. Religious freedom, which has been guaranteed since 1939 and religious tolerance are promoted by both the Nicaraguan government and the constitution. Nicaragua has no official religion. However, Catholic Bishops are expected to lend their authority to important state occasions, and their pronouncements on national issues are closely followed. They can also be called upon to mediate between contending parties at moments of political crisis.

The largest denomination, and traditionally the religion of the majority, is Roman Catholic. However, the numbers of practicing Roman Catholics have been declining, while members of evangelical Protestant groups and Mormons have been rapidly growing in numbers since the 1990s. There are also strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast.

Higher education

Universities in Nicaragua

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Higher education reform

The Bologna Process

Not very relevant.

Virtual Campuses in HE

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

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Re.ViCa Case-study

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Lessons learnt

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References

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