According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2], Nicaragua has a population of 6,850,540.[1][2].According to a 2014 research published in the journal Genetics and Molecular Biology, European ancestry predominates in 69% of Nicaraguans, followed by African ancestry in 20%, and lastly indigenous ancestry in 11%.[4] A Japanese research of "Genomic Components in America's demography" demonstrated that, on average, the ancestry of Nicaraguans is 58–62% European, 28% Native American, and 14% African, with a very small Near Eastern contribution.[5] Non-genetic data from the CIA World Factbook establishes that from Nicaragua's 2016 population of 5,966,798, around 69% are mestizo, 17% white, 5% Native American, and 9% black and other races.[6] This fluctuates with changes in migration patterns. The population is 58% urban as of 2013[update].[7]
Following the Sandinista revolution in 1979, many of the migrants who left the country were landed people of upper and middle-class origin who wanted to avoid the Sandinistas' agrarian reforms that were being carried out.[8] A growing number of these people have returned, while many continue to live abroad.[9]
42.5% of the population lives below the poverty line.[10] The general poverty rate is estimated at 47.3%, although much of the population falls in the lower middle class due to low salaries and a low GDP (US$1000–3000).[11]
The most populous city in the country is the capital city, Managua, with a population of 1.2 million (2005). As of 2005, over 4.4 million inhabitants (82%) live in the Pacific, Central and Northern regions. 2.7 million inhabitants (about 50%, not including Managua) reside in the Pacific region alone, while inhabitants in the Caribbean region only reach an estimated 700,000.[12]
The Census Bureau in Nicaragua is the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). The institution is in charge of completing censuses and surveys. INEC ran its first census in 1906, the last census was taken in 2005, it was the eighth to date.
Population
Nicaragua's total population, 2005. Number of inhabitants in thousands.
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2] the total population was 6,850,540 in 2021, compared to only 1,295,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 34.5%, 60.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.6% was 65 years or older .[13]
Year
Total population (million)
Proportion percentage
aged 0–14
aged 15–64
aged 65+
1950
1 295
43.0%
54.2%
2.8%
1955
1 508
45.2%
52.1%
2.7%
1960
1 775
47.4%
50.0%
2.5%
1965
2 063
49.2%
48.3%
2.5%
1970
2 400
48.1%
49.4%
2.5%
1975
2 798
47.1%
50.2%
2.6%
1980
3 250
47.1%
50.1%
2.7%
1985
3 710
47.1%
50.0%
2.9%
1990
4 138
46.0%
50.9%
3.2%
1995
4 659
44.0%
52.6%
3.4%
2000
5 069
39.7%
56.6%
3.8%
2005
5 439
36.2%
59.6%
4.2%
2010
5 824
33.3%
62.2%
4.5%
2015
6 223
31.3%
64.0%
4.8%
2020
6 625
29.5%
64.8%
5.7%
Structure of the population
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2009):[14]
Age group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
2 844 244
2 898 072
5 742 316
100
0-4
347 205
332 920
680 125
11.84
5-9
336 817
323 279
660 096
11.50
10-14
344 831
332 925
677 756
11.80
15-19
331 536
329 072
660 608
11.50
20-24
286 484
290 439
576 923
10.05
25-29
250 672
260 730
511 402
8.91
30-34
197 120
214 967
412 087
7.18
35-39
162 472
174 845
337 317
5.87
40-44
136 223
143 572
279 795
4.87
45-49
115 914
124 028
239 942
4.18
50-54
98 355
107 733
206 088
3.59
55-59
74 173
80 156
154 329
2.69
60-64
45 221
48 460
93 681
1.63
65-69
43 121
46 230
89 351
1.56
70-74
32 418
35 443
67 861
1.18
75-79
22 249
25 956
48 205
0.84
80+
19 433
27 317
46 750
0.81
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0-14
1 028 853
989 124
2 017 977
35.14
15-64
1 698 170
1 774 002
3 472 172
60.47
65+
117 221
134 946
252 167
4.39
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.07.2023): [15]
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
3 357 138
3 446 748
6 803 886
100
0–4
328 587
314 177
642 764
5–9
339 464
324 833
664 297
10–14
338 766
324 761
663 527
15–19
318 320
306 443
624 763
20–24
299 073
290 339
589 412
25–29
294 819
293 641
588 460
30–34
272 934
282 281
555 215
35–39
240 254
255 454
495 708
40–44
209 895
231 173
441 068
45–49
167 212
190 927
358 139
50–54
137 219
154 183
291 402
55–59
115 265
128 180
243 445
60–64
97 984
111 544
209 528
65-69
79 279
92 356
171 635
70-74
51 336
60 269
111 605
75-79
30 342
36 448
66 790
80+
36 389
49 739
86 128
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0–14
1 006 817
963 771
1 970 588
28.96
15–64
2 152 975
2 244 165
4 397 140
64.63
65+
197 346
238 812
436 158
6.41
Population distribution
Ninety percent of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. The most populous city in Nicaragua is the capital city, 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, accounting for 82% of the population. There are 2.7 million residents in the Pacific region, not including Managua. The Caribbean region, including the Mosquito Coast, has an estimated 700,000 residents.[12] In addition, many Nicaraguans live abroad.
According to the 2005 census 443,847 (8.6%) residents consider themselves to belong to an indigenous people or to an ethnic community.[22] The remaining majority of the Nicaraguan population (91.6%) are deemed mestizo and white, with the majority of these being of Spanish, with some German, Italian, Portuguese and French ancestry. Mestizos and whites mainly reside in the western region of the country.
Possibly also a part of the black or Afro-Nicaraguan population, which mainly resides on the country's sparsely populated Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast, is included in the majority population which does not consider itself to belong to an ethnic community. In the 2005 census, there were only 19,890 Creoles (0.4% of the total population). The Creole population is mostly of West Indian (Antillean) origin, the descendants of indentured laborers brought mostly from Jamaica when the region was a British protectorate.
Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from European nations. In particular the northern cities of Estelí, Jinotega and Matagalpa have significant populations of fourth generation Germans.
The Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent, numbered 3,271 in 2005 (0.1%). 112,253 people considered themselves "Mestizo de la Costa Caribe" (mestizo of the Caribbean coast). In addition to the inhabitants who declared themselves Indigenous or Ethnic community, 13,740 answered "Other". Another 47,473 responded "Not Sure" and an additional 19,460 responded "Ignore".
Indigenous population
The Native American population, the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants, numbered 227,760 (4.4% of the total population) in 2005.[22] Nicaragua's pre-Columbian consisted of many indigenous groups. In the western region, the Nicarao people were present along with other groups such as the Mangue and Subtiaba, all three being considered Mesoamerican peoples.
The central region and the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua were mainly inhabited by speakers of Misumalpan languages and some speakers of Chibchan languages. These groups include the Miskitos (120,817 people), Matagalpa (15,240 people), Ramas (4,185 people), Sumos (9,756 people) and Ulwa (698 people).
In the 19th century, the indigenous population was more demographically significant, but they have since largely been culturally assimilated into the mestizo majority. 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 black and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the Republic.
Those belonging to recognized indigenous communities (2005)
Relative to its overall population, Nicaragua has never experienced any large scale wave of immigrants. The total number of immigrants to Nicaragua, both originating from other Latin American countries and all other countries, never surpassed 1% of its total population prior to 1995. The 2005 census showed the foreign-born population at 1.2%, having risen 0.06% in 10 years.[12] However, in the 19th century, Nicaragua received immigrants from Europe, who established many agricultural businesses such as coffee and sugar cane plantations, and also newspapers, hotels and banks.
The founding members of the Deutscher Club in Nicaragua, 1901
Emigration
During the Nicaraguan Revolution and the Civil War, thousands of Nicaraguans left the country. After the 1990 Nicaraguan Elections some people returned, but many more emigrated during the rest of the decade. In 1998, the Hurricane Mitch killed almost 4,000 people in the country and destroyed much of the Nicaraguan economy, as a result thousands of Nicaraguans received the TPS enabling them to emigrate to the United States as "refugees".[23] In recent years, many Nicaraguans had left the country to escape poverty and unemployment.
Nicaraguan emigration is a recent process. During the 1990–2004 period, more than 800,000 Nicaraguans left the country, compared to 100,000 during the 1970–1989 period.[24] According to the World Bank, in 2005 there were 683,520 Nicaraguans living outside Nicaragua legally. If those who are undocumented are counted, some sources estimate as many as 1,500,000 Nicaraguans living abroad by the end of 2005.[25] Nicaraguans are the third largest community of Central Americans living abroad, after Guatemalans and Salvadorans. Nicaragua is also the second country in Central America by percentage of population living abroad.
Following the return of Daniel Ortega to power in the 2006 Nicaraguan general election and subsequent democratic backsliding, especially during and after the violently suppressed 2018 Nicaraguan protests, a new wave of political emigration occurred.[26] Most political emigrants live in Costa Rica[27] which has been a stable representative democracy since the end of the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948. Other target countries of political emigration include the United States and European countries, particularly Spain.
Remittances to Nicaragua represent about 15% of the country's GDP.[28] In 2008 Nicaragua received close to one billion dollars in remittances; an increase from the $750,000,000 received in 2007, according to the World Bank[29]
The official language of Nicaragua is Spanish, or Nicañol as Nicaraguan Spanish is sometimes referred to, and is spoken by the country's population. In Nicaragua the Voseo form is common, just as in other countries in Central and South America like Honduras, Argentina, and Uruguay. Spanish has many different dialects spoken throughout Latin America, Central American Spanish is the dialect spoken in Nicaragua.
Phonology
Some other characteristics of Nicaraguan phonology include:
/s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant is pronounced like [h].
j (/x/), is aspirated; it is soft as the /h/ in English (e.g.: Yahoo).
Intervocalic /b/, /d/, and /g/ show no sign of reduction, and are much more pronounced than in most dialects.
In some regions the double /l/ is pronounced with a ( "Shhh") sound, Argentina has a similar accent.
There is no confusion between /l/ and /r/, as in the Caribbean.
/s/, /z/ and in some cases /c/ (as in cerrar) are pronounced as [s]
/m/ at the end of a word tends to be pronounced as [n]
Nicaraguans on the Caribbean coast speak their indigenous languages and also English. The indigenous peoples of the east who use their original language tend to also speak Spanish and/or English, the main languages being Miskito language, Sumo language, and Rama language. Creole languages are also present in the Caribbean coast, Nicaragua Creole English has 30,000 speakers.
Nicaragua has many minority groups. Many ethnic groups in Nicaragua, such as the Chinese Nicaraguans and Palestinian Nicaraguans, have maintained their ancestral languages while also speaking Spanish and/or English. Minority languages include Chinese, Arabic, German, Italian among others. Nicaragua also has a total of 3 extinct languages.[31]
Religion is a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and forms part of the constitution. Religious freedom, which has been guaranteed since 1939, and religious tolerance is promoted by both the Nicaraguan government and the constitution. 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.[32]
Although Nicaragua has no official religion it is nominally Roman Catholic. Practicing Roman Catholics are no longer the majority and are declining while evangelicalProtestant groups and Mormons are growing rapidly have been growing since the 1990s. There are also strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast.
Roman Catholicism came to Nicaragua in the 16th century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the established faith. Protestantism and various Christian sects came to Nicaragua during the 19th century, but only during the 20th century have Protestant denominations gained large followings in the Caribbean Coast of the country. Popular religion revolves around the saints, who are perceived as intermediaries between human beings and God.[32]
Most localities, from the capital of Managua to small rural communities, honor patron saints selected from the Roman Catholic calendar with annual fiestas. In many communities, a rich lore has grown up around the celebrations of patron saints, such as Managua's Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo), honored in August with two colorful, often riotous, day-long processions through the city. The high point of Nicaragua's religious calendar for the masses is neither Christmas nor Easter, but La Purísima, a week of festivities in early December dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, during which elaborate altars to the Virgin Mary are constructed in homes and workplaces.[32]
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