Economy - overview: Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 22.8%
services: 45.6% (1999)

Population below poverty line: 50% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 39.8% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.7 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $734 million
expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood

Industrial production growth rate: 4.4% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 2.349 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 67.26%
hydro: 17.71%
nuclear: 0%
other: 15.03% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 2.265 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 20 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 100 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products

Exports: $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold

Exports - partners: US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999)

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods

Imports - partners: US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999)

Debt - external: $6.4 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: NA

Currency: gold cordoba (NIO)

Currency code: NIO

Exchange rates: gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Nicaragua on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nicaragua Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nicaragua Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.