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Nicaragua

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Countries; Countries

   SOS Children works in Nicaragua. For more information see SOS Children
   in Nicaragua
                            República de Nicaragua
   Republic of Nicaragua

   Flag of Nicaragua Coat of arms of Nicaragua
   Flag              Coat of arms
   Anthem: Salve a ti, Nicaragua
   Location of Nicaragua
   Capital
   (and largest city)    Managua
                         12°9′N 86°16′W
    Official languages   Spanish (official) (English and indigenous languages
                         on Caribbean coast)
   Government            Republic
    - President          Enrique Bolaños
       Independence      From Spain
    - Declared           September 15, 1821
    - Recognized         July 25, 1850
                                     Area
    - Total              129,494 km² ( 97th)
                         50,193 sq mi
    - Water (%)          07.14
                                  Population
    - July 2005 estimate 5,487,500 ( 108th)
    - Density            42/km² ( 157th)
                         109/sq mi
        GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total              $20.996 billion ( 108th)
    - Per capita         $3,636 ( 119th)
        HDI  (2003)      0.690 (medium) ( 112th)
         Currency        Córdoba ( NIO)
         Time zone       ( UTC-6)
       Internet TLD      .ni
       Calling code      +505

   Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua, IPA [re'puβlika ðe
   nika'raɰwa]) is a democratic republic in Central America. It is the
   largest nation in the isthmus, but also the least densely populated
   with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbours. The
   country is bordered on the north by Honduras and on the south by Costa
   Rica. Its western coastline is on the Pacific Ocean, while the east
   side of the country is on the Caribbean Sea.

   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
   and Lago de Managua 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 that land when the first conquerors arrived.
   The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the group that
   inhabited that region: the Nicaraos or Niquiranos.

   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.

History

   In 1524, Conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded the first
   Spanish permanent settlements, including two of Nicaragua's principal
   towns: Granada on Lake Nicaragua and León east of Lake Managua. Settled
   as a colony of Spain within the kingdom of Guatemala in the 1520s,
   Nicaragua became a part of the Mexican Empire and then gained its
   independence as a part of the United Provinces of Central America in
   1821 and as an independent republic in its own right in 1838. The
   Mosquito Coast based on Bluefields on the Atlantic was claimed by the
   United Kingdom and its predecessors as a protectorate from 1655 to
   1850; this was delegated to Honduras in 1859 and transferred to
   Nicaragua in 1860, though it remained autonomous until 1894.
   Granada, Nicaragua
   Enlarge
   Granada, Nicaragua

   Much of Nicaragua's early politics following independence was
   characterized by the rivalry between the liberal élite of León and the
   conservative élite of Granada. This rivalry sometimes spilled into
   civil war. Initially invited by the liberals in 1855 to join their
   struggle against the conservatives, a United States adventurer named
   William Walker won the Liberals' war so easily that it seemed like he
   barely even fought. As a result, he saw the chance to take over the
   country. Walker named himself the president in 1856 with the intention
   of creating another slave state for the United States. Fearing the
   possibility of his plans for expansion, several Central American
   countries united to drive him out of Nicaragua in 1857, ironically
   supported by American industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had
   earlier sponsored Walker's filibuster of Nicaragua. Walker was executed
   in neighbouring Honduras on Sept. 12, 1860. A period of three decades
   of conservative rule ensued.

   Taking advantage of divisions within the conservative ranks, José
   Santos Zelaya led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893.
   Zelaya ended the long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom over the
   Atlantic Coast in 1894, and re-incorporated the Mosquito Coast into
   Nicaragua.

   Nicaragua offered assistance during World War II, and was the first
   country in the world to ratify the UN Charter.

   Nicaragua has seen many outside interventions and lengthy periods of
   military dictatorship, the longest one being the rule of the Somoza
   family for much of the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as
   part of a US-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of
   the National Guard to replace the small individual armies that had long
   reigned in the country. The only Nicaraguan general to refuse to sign
   this pact (el tratado del Espino Negro) was Augusto César Sandino who
   headed up to the northern mountains of Las Segovias, where he fought
   the US Marines for over five years.

   The Marines eventually reached an agreement with the Sandinista
   guerrillas. The Marines left, and Juan Bautista Sacasa was left in
   control of the country. A National Guard was created and Anastasio
   Somoza Garcia, a man educated in the United States, obtained the
   highest position in the newly created organization.

   From his position in the National Guard, Somoza effectively took over
   the country. Fearing future armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza
   invited him to a meeting in Managua, where he was assassinated on
   February 21 of 1934 by the National Guard. Somoza now had effectively
   taken control of the country and destroyed any potential armed
   resistance. He was assassinated in turn by Rigoberto Lopez Perez, a
   Nicaraguan poet, in 1956 . Luis Somoza Debayle, the eldest son of the
   late dictator, officially took charge of Nicaragua after his father's
   death.

   Luis was in power only for a few years when he died of a heart attack.
   He is remembered for being moderate. Then came a puppet president, Rene
   Shick. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who was in charge of the National
   Guard, held effective control of the country. He officially took the
   presidency after Shick. In 1961, a young student, Carlos Fonseca,
   turned back to the historical figure of Sandino, founding the
   Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). The FSLN was a tiny party
   throughout most of the 1960s, but Somoza's utter hatred of the FSLN and
   heavy handed treatment of anyone he suspected to be a Sandinista
   sympathizer gave many ordinary Nicaraguans the idea that the
   Sandinistas were much stronger than was the case.

   Some Nicaraguan historians point to the 1972 earthquake that devastated
   Managua as the final 'nail in the coffin' for Somoza. Some 90% of the
   city was destroyed, and Somoza's brazen corruption, mishandling of
   relief (which prompted Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente to
   personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972- a flight that ended in
   his tragic death) and refusal to rebuild Managua flooded the ranks of
   the Sandinistas with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had
   anything to lose.

   Somoza acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding
   the nation, not allowing other members of the upper class to share the
   profits that would result from the increased economic activity. This
   weakened Somoza further since even the economic elite were reluctant to
   support him. In 1976 a synthetic brand of cotton, one of Nicaragua's
   economic pillars of the epoch, was developed. This caused the price of
   cotton to decrease, placing the economy in great trouble.

   These economic problems propelled the Sandinistas forward in their
   struggle against Somoza by leading many middle and upper class
   Nicaraguans to see the Sandinistas as the only hope for ridding the
   country of the brutal Somoza regime. The January 1978 assassination of
   Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of the most important newspaper in
   Nicaragua and an ardent opponent of Somoza, is believed to be the spark
   that that led to extreme general disapointment against Somoza. At the
   time the perpetrators of the murder were believed to be members of the
   National Guard.

   The Sandinistas, supported by much of the populace, elements of the
   Catholic Church, and regional and international governments took power
   in July of 1979. Somoza abandoned the country and his National
   Guardsmen, and eventually ended up in Paraguay, where he was
   assassinated in September of 1980 by members of the Argentinian
   Revolutionary Workers' Party. The key large scale programs of the
   Sandinistas included a massive National Literacy Crusade (March-August,
   1980) and a sweeping agrarian reform that put land into the hands of
   many formerly landless peasants.

   United States President Jimmy Carter, who had cut off aid to Somoza the
   previous year, initially chose to give aid to the new government, but
   this lessened towards the end of his presidency and was completely cut
   off by President Reagan due to evidence of Sandinista support of FMLN
   rebels in El Salvador. Prior to US aid withdrawal, Bayardo Arce, an
   FSLN politician, had stated that "Nicaragua is the only country
   building its socialism with the dollars of imperialism."

   After a brief breathing space, the Sandinistas were faced with an
   ongoing and debilitating international terrorist war waged by the
   Contra proxy-rebels of Ronald Reagan's US presidency. The US trained
   and financed the contras to fight against the Sandinistas, sparking
   widespread criticism from many quarters within the US, including
   Congress. When Congress moved to cut off aid to the Contras, Reagan
   aide Col. Oliver North concocted a plan to fund the contras through
   clandestine arms sales to Iran, a fiasco that blew up into the
   so-called Iran-Contra Affair.

   Daniel Ortega was overwhelmingly elected President in 1984, but the
   years of the war had taken an unparalleled toll on Nicaragua's economy
   and left many families in quite difficult situations. Although the
   elections were certified fair by Western NGOs allowed into Nicaragua,
   Ortega and the FSLN had, in fact, been actively suppressing opposition
   parties while leaving moderate parties alone claiming that the
   moderates “presented no danger and served as a convenient façade to the
   outside world”.

   Nicaragua won a historic case against the US at the International Court
   of Justice in 1986 (see Nicaragua v. United States), and the US was
   ordered to pay Nicaragua some $12 billion in reparations for violating
   Nicaraguan sovereignty by engaging in attacks against it. The United
   States withdrew its acceptance of the Court and argued it had no
   authority in matters of sovereign state relations. The US government
   refused to pay restitutions, even when a United Nations General
   Assembly resolution on the matter was passed.

1990s and the Post Sandinistan Era

   Multi-party elections held in 1990 saw the defeat of the Sandinistas by
   a coalition of anti-sandinista (from the left and right of the
   political spectrum) parties led by Violeta Chamorro, the widow of Pedro
   Joaquín Chamorro. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas as numerous
   pre-election polls had indicated a sure Sandinista victory and their
   pre-election rallies had attracted crowds of several hundred thousand
   people. The unexpected result was subject to a great deal of analysis
   and comment, and was attributed by commentators such as Noam Chomsky
   and S. Brian Willson to the Contra threats to continue the war if the
   Sandinistas retained power, the general war-weariness of the Nicaraguan
   population, and extensive U.S. funding of the opposition.

   On the other hand, P. J. O'Rourke wrote in "Return of the Death of
   Communism" about "the unfair advantages of using state resources for
   party ends, about how Sandinista control of the transit system
   prevented UNO supporters from attending rallies, how Sandinista
   domination of the army forced soldiers to vote for Ortega and how
   Sandinista bureaucracy kept $3.3 million of U.S. campaign aid from
   getting to UNO while Daniel Ortega spent millions donated by overseas
   people and millions and millions more from the Nicaraguan treasury . .
   ."

   Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported the largest plurality of voters
   voted for Charmorro due to American economic sanctions against the
   Ortega government. Exit polling also convinced Daniel Ortega that the
   election results were legitimate, and were instrumental in his decision
   to accept the vote of the people and step down rather than void the
   election.

   Chamorro received an economy entirely in ruins. The per capita income
   of Nicaragua had been reduced by over 80% during the 1980s, due to
   financial and social costs of the Contra war with the Sandinista-led
   government. Much to the surprise of the US and the contra forces,
   Chamorro did not dismantle the Sandinista Army, though the name was
   changed to the Nicaraguan Army. Chamorro's main contribution to
   Nicaragua was the disarmament of groups in the northern and central
   areas of the country. This provided stability that the country had
   lacked for over ten years.

   In subsequent elections in 1996, Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of
   the FSLN were again defeated, this time by Arnoldo Alemán of the
   Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC). President Alemán came to a
   strategic understanding with Ortega and the FSLN, and Nicaragua's
   politics seemed to settle into a two party system, with the PLC and
   FSLN co-operating in dividing certain government spoils and positions
   and helping to shut out smaller parties.

   In the 2001 elections, the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Enrique
   Bolaños winning the Presidency. However, President Bolaños subsequently
   broke with the PLC and charged former President Alemán with corruption,
   securing a twenty-year prison term for embezzlement, money laundering,
   and corruption. The Sandinista party and Liberal members loyal to
   Alemán reacted by stripping powers from President Bolaños and his
   ministers, and threatening impeachment. This "slow motion coup" was
   averted partially due to U.S. pressure, with proposed constitutional
   changes delayed until the scheduled 2006 elections.

Politics

   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 pluriform
   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. Nicaragua's current president is Enrique Bolaños Geyer .
   Legislative and presidential elections took place on Nov. 5 2006. These
   elections gave the presidency to Daniel Ortega for a third time. He won
   with 39% of the vote, enough to finalize the results.

Geography

   Departaments (capitals): 1 Boaco (Boaco) 2 Carazo (Jinotepe) 3
   Chinandega (Chinandega) 4 Chontales (Juigalpa, Chontales) 5 Estelí
   (Estelí) 6 Granada (Granada) 7 Jinotega (Jinotega) 8 León (León) 9
   Madriz (Somoto) 10 Managua (Managua) 11 Masaya (Masaya) 12 Matagalpa
   (Matagalpa) 13 Nueva Segovia (Ocotal) 14 Rivas (Rivas) 15 Río San Juan
   (San Carlos) Autonomous Regions 16 RAAN (Bilwi) 17 RAAS (Bluefields)
   Enlarge
   Departaments (capitals):
   1 Boaco ( Boaco)
   2 Carazo ( Jinotepe)
   3 Chinandega ( Chinandega)
   4 Chontales ( Juigalpa, Chontales)
   5 Estelí ( Estelí)
   6 Granada ( Granada)
   7 Jinotega ( Jinotega)
   8 León ( León)
   9 Madriz ( Somoto)
   10 Managua ( Managua)
   11 Masaya ( Masaya)
   12 Matagalpa ( Matagalpa)
   13 Nueva Segovia ( Ocotal)
   14 Rivas ( Rivas)
   15 Río San Juan ( San Carlos)
   Autonomous Regions
   16 RAAN ( Bilwi)
   17 RAAS ( Bluefields)

   Occupying a landmass of 129,494 km² - roughly the size of Greece or the
   state of New York and 1.5 times larger than Portugal, Nicaragua
   contains 7% of the world's biodiversity and the second largest
   rainforest in the Americas. Close to 20% of the country's territory is
   protected as national parks or biological reserves. The country is
   bordered by Costa Rica on the south and Honduras on the north, with the
   Caribbean Sea to the east.

   Nicaragua is a unitary republic. For administrative purposes it is
   divided into 15 departments (departamentos) and two self-governing
   regions (autonomous communities) based on the Spanish model. The two
   autonomous regions are Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región
   Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, often referred to as RAAN and RAAS,
   respectively. Until they were granted autonomy in 1985 they formed the
   single department of Zelaya.

   Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific
   Lowlands, the North-Central Mountains and the Atlantic Lowlands.

The Pacific Lowlands

   Located in the west of the country, these lowlands consist of a broad,
   hot, fertile plain. Punctuating this plain are several large volcanoes
   of the Maribios mountain range, including Mombacho just outside
   Granada, and Momotombo near León. The lowland area runs from the Gulf
   of Fonseca to Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake
   Nicaragua. This region is the most populous. About 27% of the nation's
   population lives in and around Managua, the capital city, on the
   southern shores of Lake Managua.

   In addition to its beach and resort communities, the Pacific Lowlands
   is also the repository for much of Nicaragua's Spanish colonial
   heritage. Cities such as Granada and León abound in colonial
   architecture and artifacts.

The Central Region

   Guardabarranco (Turquoise-browed Motmot): the national bird
   Enlarge
   Guardabarranco ( Turquoise-browed Motmot): the national bird

   This is an upland region away from the Pacific coast, with a cooler
   climate than the Pacific Lowlands. About a quarter of the country's
   agriculture takes place in this region, with coffee grown on the higher
   slopes. Oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchids are abundant in the cloud
   forests of the region.

   Bird life in the forests of the central region includes the Resplendent
   Quetzal, goldfinches, hummingbirds, jays and toucanets.

The Atlantic Lowlands

   This large rainforest region, with several large rivers running through
   it, is very sparsely populated and is the second-largest rainforest in
   the Americas after the Amazon in Brazil. The Río Coco forms the border
   with Honduras. The Caribbean coastline is much more sinuous than its
   generally straight Pacific counterpart. Lagoons and deltas make it very
   irregular.

   Nicaragua's tropical east coast is very different from the rest of the
   country. The climate is predominantly tropical, with high temperature
   and high humidity. Around the area's principal city of Bluefields,
   English is widely spoken along with the official Spanish and the
   population more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean
   ports than the rest of Nicaragua.

   A great variety of birds can be observed including eagles, turkeys,
   toucans, parakeets and macaws. Animal life in the area includes several
   different species of monkeys, ant-eaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs.

   See also:
     * Volcanoes of Nicaragua
     * List of cities in Nicaragua

Economy

   Maderas and Concepcion Volcanoes, popular tourist destination in
   Nicaragua
   Enlarge
   Maderas and Concepcion Volcanoes, popular tourist destination in
   Nicaragua

   Nicaragua's economy has historically been based on the export of cash
   crops such as bananas, coffee and tobacco. Nicaragua's rum is renowned
   as among the best in Latin America, and its tobacco and beef are also
   well regarded. During the Sandinista War in the early 1980's, much of
   the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, and inflation
   ran for a time at several thousand per cent. Since the end of the war
   almost two decades ago, many state-owned industries have been
   privatized. Inflation has been brought to manageable levels, and the
   economy has grown quite rapidly in recent years.

   As in many other developing countries, a large segment of the
   economically poor in Nicaragua are women. In addition, a relatively
   high percentage of Nicaragua's average homes have a woman as head of
   household: 39% of urban homes and 28% of the rural ones.

   The country is still a recovering economy and it continues to implement
   further reforms, on which aid from the IMF is conditional. In 2005,
   finance ministers of the leading eight industrialized nations ( G-8)
   agreed to forgive Nicaragua's foreign debt, as part of the HIPC
   program. As of 2004, Nicaragua is the 4th poorest nation in the
   Americas after Bolivia, Honduras and Haiti, with a per capita GDP of
   around $2,900. Unemployment is officially around 11%, and another 36%
   are underemployed.

   The Nicaraguan unit of currency is the Córdoba (NIO) and was named
   after Francisco Hernández de Córdoba its national founder.

Tourism

   In the last 15 years or so, the tourism sector has seen an economic
   boom, positively affecting the Nicaraguan life and economy. Since 2001,
   $600 million dollars have been invested in tourism, most of them coming
   from Nicaraguan and American investors. The country is mostly famous
   for its landscapes, flora and fauna, culture, beaches and of course,
   its lakes and volcanoes.
   Pacific beach in Nicaragua
   Enlarge
   Pacific beach in Nicaragua

   According to the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua, the colonial city of
   Granada, Nicaragua is the preferred spot for tourists. Also, the cities
   of León, Masaya, Rivas and the likes of San Juan del Sur, San Juan
   River, Ometepe, Mombacho Volcano, Corn Island & Little Corn Island, and
   others are main tourist attractions. In addition, ecotourism and
   surfing attract many tourists to Nicaragua.

   The economic benefits which can be derived from tourism cannot be
   disputed; today, tourism constitutes around 10% of the Nicaraguan
   income. More investment and support from the government is expected
   after the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement was
   signed.

Demographics

   According to the 2005 census, Nicaragua has a population of 5,483,400,
   an increase of 20% on the 1995 census figure of 4,357,099.

   Nicaraguans of European or mixed European and indigenous stock (
   mestizos) make up a combined 86% of the population, with about 69%
   being mestizos and 17% being of European descent (mostly Spanish,
   German, Italian and French).
   Caribbean People Dancing May Pole
   Enlarge
   Caribbean People Dancing May Pole

   In the nineteenth century, there had been a substantial indigenous
   minority, but this group was also largely assimilated culturally into
   the Hispanic mainstream. Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw
   several waves of immigration from other European nations. In particular
   the northern cities of Esteli and Matagalpa have significant fourth
   generation German communities. Most of the Mestizo and European descent
   population live in the western regions of the country as in the cities
   of Managua, Granada and Leon..
   A Child in Granada
   Enlarge
   A Child in Granada

   About 9% of Nicaragua's population is black, or Afronicaragüense, and
   mainly resides in the country's sparsely populated Caribbean or
   Atlantic coast. The black population is mostly of West Indian
   (Antillean) origin, the descendants of indentured labourers brought
   mostly from Jamaica and Haiti when the region was a British
   protectorate. Nicaragua has the second largest black population in
   Central America after Panama. There is also a smaller number of
   Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak
   descent.

   The remaining 5% is comprised of the unmixed descendants of the
   country's indigenous inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Colombian population
   consisted of the Nahuatl-speaking Nicarao people of the west after whom
   the country is named, and six other ethnic groups including the
   Miskitos, Ramas and Sumos along the Caribbean coast. While very few
   pure-blooded Nicarao people still exist, the Caribbean peoples have
   remained distinct. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the
   department of Zelaya - consisting of the eastern half of the country -
   into two autonomous regions and granted the African and indigenous
   people of this region limited self-rule within the Republic.

   There is also a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Syrian,
   Armenian, Palestinian and Lebanese people in Nicaragua with a total
   population of about 30,000, and an East Asian community of Japanese,
   Taiwanese and Chinese people of almost 8,000. These minorities speak
   Spanish while maintaining their ancestral languages as well.

Culture

   The population of Nicaragua is very young with approx. 40% under 18
   years of age. The country has strong folklore, music and religious
   traditions, deeply influenced by Iberian Peninsula culture but enriched
   with Amerindian sounds and flavours. Nicaragua has historically been an
   important source of poetry in the Hispanic world, with internationally
   renowned contributors such as Rubén Darío.

   Education is free for all Nicaraguans. Elementary education is free and
   compulsory, and communities located on the Atlantic Coast have access
   to education in their native language. Higher education has financial,
   organic and administrative autonomy, according to the law. Also,
   freedom of subjects is recognized.

   Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands.
   The west of the country was colonized by Spain and its people are
   mostly Mestizos and European in composition; Spanish is invariably
   their first language.
   Macho Raton
   Enlarge
   Macho Raton

   The eastern half of the country, on the other hand, was once a British
   protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken
   domestically along with Spanish. Both languages are taught in schools.
   Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are
   British possessions, such as Jamaica, Belize, The Cayman Islands, etc.
   Although recent immigration by mestizos has largely influenced younger
   generations and an increasing number of people are either bilingual at
   home or speak Spanish only. There is a relatively large population of
   people of mixed African descent, as well as a smaller Garifuna
   population. Due to the African influence, in the East Coast, there is a
   different kind of music. It is the popular dance music called 'Palo de
   Mayo', or Maypole, which is celebrated during the Maypole Festival,
   during the month of May. The music is sensual with intense rhythms. The
   celebration is derived from the British Maypole for May Day
   celebration, as adapted and transformed by the Afro-Nicaraguans on the
   Caribbean or Mosquito Coast.

   Of the cultures that were present before European colonization, the
   Nahuatl-speaking peoples who populated the west of the country have
   essentially been assimilated into the latino culture. In the east,
   however, several indigenous groups have maintained a distinct identity.
   The Miskito, Sumo, and Rama peoples still use their original languages,
   and also usually speak English and/or Spanish. The small Garifuna
   people speak their own Garifuna language in addition to English and/or
   Spanish.

Language and Religion

   Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the country's population; Nicaraguans
   speak standard Iberoamerican Spanish with some similarities to Galician
   Spanish—structurally similar to Argentinian Spanish which uses "vos"
   instead of "tu" along with the " vos" conjugation, but with a different
   intonation. The black population of the east coast region has English
   as its first language. Several indigenous peoples of the east still use
   their original languages, the main ones being the Miskito, Sumo, and
   Rama indigenous groups. Nicaraguan Sign Language is of particular
   interest to linguists.

   Roman Catholicism is the major religion, but evangelical Protestant
   groups have grown recently, and there are strong Anglican and Moravian
   communities on the Caribbean coast. The 1995 census shows religious
   affiliation as follows: Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%,
   Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5%.

   90% of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent
   interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. An estimated 800
   thousand Nicaraguans live outside of Nicaragua.
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