Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely
susceptible to hurricanes
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater
body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
People Nicaragua
Population:
5,570,129 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.9 years
male: 20.5 years
female: 21.4 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.89% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)