Nicaragua Information

13 Fun Facts about Nicaragua

1. The name Nicaragua:

The name comes from a combination of two words, "nicarao" and "agua". Nicarao are the Indian tribe that was occupying the shores of Lake Nicaragua when the Spaniards arrived in the 1500's. "Agua" is the Spanish word for water.

The Nicarao tribe originally immigrated to from , after the fall of the Aztec empire. According to legend, the Nicarao were directed to travel south until they found an island with two volcanoes in the middle of a lake. An interesting fact is that the Nicarao tribe found Ometepe Island with two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, realized they had found the promised land, and then setttled on the shores of Lake Nicaragua .

2. Population

The estimated population of is five and a half million people. An interesting fact about is that 36% of the population is under the age of 14, and the median age is 21 years. Literacy rate is 70%, and life expectancy is 70 years.

3. Size

geography includes many volcanos, lakes, rivers. It has 50,193 square miles. is similar in size to North Carolina or New York .

4. Regions (Departamentos)

does not have states or provinces, but has fifteen departamentos, and also two separate autonomous self-governing regions (similar to Indian tribal reservations) known as R.A.A.S. and R.A.A.N. on the Caribbean coast of .

5. Currency

The currency is called the Cordoba , named after the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. As of June 11, 2008 - 19 Nicaragua Cordobas equal U.S. $1 dollar.

6. Christopher Columbus in Nicaragua:

Christopher Columbus arrived on the Caribbean coast of in 1502, in his fourth voyage to the . The Spanish did not settle in until 1524, when Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba arrived with Soanish colonists to settle Nicaraga as a colony of , and part of 's Mexican empire.

7. Independence

gained independence from after the Mexican revolution ended in September 15, 1821. September 15th is celebrated as Independence Day and is a national holiday in . After Independence from , first became part of the United Provinces of Central America , then evolved into the Independent Republic of Nicaragua in 1838.

8. An American who became President of Nicaragua:

One of many interesting facts is that had an American president in the 1850s. In 1856 William Walker, an American, declared himself President of Nicaragua and tried to turn Nicaragua into a slave state for the United States. Walker was kicked out of in 1857 by Nicaraguans and fellow American Cornelius Vanderbilt.

9. Sandino and the Sandinistas

Augusto Cesar Sandino was a general who led the resisitance to the U.S. Marines occupation of in the 1920s and 1930s. The Sandinista political party of is named for Sandino. A huge statue of Sandino overlooks the city of Managua .

10. Religion

The majority of Nicaraguans (72%) are Roman Catholic, 16% are Evengelical Christians, and the remainder are a mixture of other religions and atheists. The Episcopalians, Baptists, and Seventh Day Adventists, are beginning to build churches in . A small Jewish popularion also celebrates religious services in a house in Managua .

11. Largest cities in Nicaragua:

Managua, a is the largest city with a population of 1 million people. is the second largest city in with an estimated population of 160,000 people. Granada , Chinandega, and Masaya each have a population of approximately 95,000 people.

12. Political system of Nicaragua:

has democratic elections for president every 5 years. The current president of is Daniel Ortega, who began his presidency on January 10, 2007. The president is elected for a 5 year term, and cannot be re-elected to a second consecutive term, but may run for re-election again after waiting 5 years after leaving the presidential office.

The National Assembly of Nicaragua is the "Congress" of , and has 90 seats for elected members, who serve 5 year terms. The National Assembly of Nicaragua has 2 additional seats, one for the previous president of , and one for the losing candidate for President who got the second highest numbers of votes in the presidential election.

There are 16 justices in the Supreme Court of Nicaragua. These justices are elected to five years terms by the National Assembly.

13. Time Zone information for Travel in Nicaragua:

has the same time zone as Chicago, . In winter months, 's time zone is GMT-6 (six hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time.) But from April through October, observes Daylight Savings Time, and the Daylight Savings time zone is GMT-5 (five hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time.)

An interesting fact is that daylight savings time is named for the current ruler or political party in office. For example, Daylight Savings Time in summer 2006 was Bolanos time, named for former President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolanos. Daylight savings time in 2007 is called Sandinista Time, named for the political party of the new President, Daniel Ortega.