30 Interesting Facts About Nicaragua

From violent volcanoes to immense lakes and fascinating history, these are the most interesting facts about Nicaragua.

Fast facts

Official name: Republic of Nicaragua
Capital city: Managua
Population: 6,676,948
Area: 130,370 sq km
Major languages: Spanish (official), Nicaragua Creole English, Miskito, Garífuna, Rama, Sumo-Mayangna
Major religions: Christianity
Time zone: UTC-6 (Central Time Zone)

Interesting facts about Nicaragua

1. Nicaragua is a country located in Central America bordering Costa Rica and Honduras.

2. Nicaragua may have been inhabited since around 12,000 BCE. Evidence of one of the Americas’ earliest human encampments was discovered marked by clamshells.

3. Equally impressive was the discovery, at the site of the present-day capital, Managua, of footprints in volcanic mud left by a family around 2,100 years ago.

4. Spaniard Pedro Arias Dávila was the first European to lead an expedition to present-day Nicaragua.

5. Nicaragua gets its name from a local Indian chief, Nicarao, and the Spanish word for water (agua). It was named by Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez de Avila in 1522.

6. The Spanish colonization of Nicaragua reduced the Indigenous population from an estimated one million people to just a few tens of thousands within three decades of the colonizer’s arrival. Introduced diseases and slavery were the main cause.

7. Britain colonized Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast during the 17th and 18th centuries, and it remained under British control until 1860.

8. Nicaragua is the only country in Latin America to be colonized by both the British and the Spanish.

9. In 1821, parts of Nicaragua became independent but were incorporated into the Mexican empire. Then, in 1823, Nicaragua joined the United Provinces of Central America, which also included Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

10. Finally, in 1860, Nicaragua became fully independent.

11. Nicaragua’s flag descends from the flag used by the United Provinces of Central America. It consisted of blue-white-blue stripes with the national coat of arms in the center. The countries of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica all use permutations of the design in their flags.

12. Nicaragua’s coat of arms includes a triangle for equality, a liberty cap for freedom and five volcanoes between two oceans, which are symbolic of the five original Central American countries between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

13. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere when measured by GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). It is the poorest country in Central America.

14. In terms of area, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America.

15. As Nicaragua is located along the narrow Central American isthmus, it is possible to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) and the sunset over the Pacific Ocean on the same day. At its narrowest, the distance between the Pacific and the Caribbean is around 200km.

16. In 2014, Nicaragua unveiled plans to build a canal linking the two oceans. The 173-mile (278km) waterway was conceived to rival the Panama Canal. However, construction work has still not begun.

17. Granada and León, two of Nicaragua’s principal cities, were originally Spanish settlements. Today, they are celebrated for their rich colonial architecture and heritage.

18. The city of Granada is the oldest Spanish-built city in the Central American isthmus. It was founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, who named it after his hometown in Spain.

19. Nicaragua is the most gender-equal country in the Americas and ranks seventh in the world overall for gender equality.

20. Nicaragua is home to a diverse array of exotic wildlife, including toucans, boa constrictors, jaguars, sloths and wild boars. Nicaragua has several beaches where sea turtles come to nest from July to February.

21. Nicaragua is home to approximately 1,800 vertebrate species, including roughly 250 mammals and about 30,000 species in total. This also includes 764 bird species, of which 551 are resident and 213 are migratory.

22. Around 25% of Nicaragua is made up of forest, with over 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) classed as virgin forest. These are old-growth forest ecosystems where nature survives in its purest form without human intervention.

23. Nicaragua also has the two largest lakes in Central America: Lake Managua (1,035 sq km) and Lake Nicaragua (8,264 sq km).

24. Lake Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake that harbors oceanic animal life. Bull sharks, swordfish, and tarpon all survive in its waters.

25. Nicaragua, dubbed the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes”, is home to 40 volcanoes, some of which are active. Of the 36 volcanic islands at Lake Nicaragua, only four are inhabited.

26. In 1972, Nicaragua was hit by a devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquake. Over 10,000 people are thought to have died when the earthquake hit the city of Managua.

27. Nicaragua is home to a region called the Mosquito Coast, which is spread along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. It is not named after the insect but after the Miskito indigenous people, for whom the region is home.

28. The region inspired the 1981 best-selling book by Paul Theroux and later the 1986 film starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

29. El Güegüense is a satirical drama performed on the feast of San Sebastián. El Güegüense, a blend of Spanish and indigenous cultures, is an expression of protest against colonial rule developed in the 18th century. In 2005, UNESCO declared El Güegüence “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

30. Nicaraguan Violeta Chamorro was the first elected female head of state. Two other female American leaders pre-date her, but Eugenia Charles of Dominica was prime minister and not the head of state, and Isabel Perón of Argentina was not elected.

We corroborated these interesting facts about Nicaragua using only primary sources. However, if you notice an error or have any questions, please contact us.