NICARAGUA

Most Nicaraguans have both European and Indian ancestry, and the culture of the country reflects the Ibero-European and Indian heritage of its people. Only the Indians of the eastern half of the country remain ethnically distinct and retain tribal customs and languages. A large black minority (of Jamaican origin) is concentrated on the Caribbean coast. In the mid-1980s, the central government divided the eastern half of the country--the former department of Zelaya--into two autonomous regions and granted the people of the region limited self-rule. The 1995 constitutional reform guaranteed the integrity of the regions' several unique cultures, and gave the inhabitants a say in the use of the area's natural resources.

POPULATION GRAPH

Population:	5,891,199 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 33.8% (male 1,013,866/female 976,430) 15-64 years: 62.9% (male 1,847,756/female 1,857,264) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 85,782/female 110,101) (2009 est.)
Median age:	total: 22.1 years male: 21.7 years female: 22.5 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:	1.784% (2009 est.)
Birth rate:	23.7 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:	4.33 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:	-1.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization:	urban population: 57% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 1.8% annual rate of change (2005-2010)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 25.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 71.5 years male: 69.35 years female: 73.75 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.57 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	0.2% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	7,700 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
Major infectious diseases:	degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
Nationality:	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
Ethnic groups:	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Religions:	Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7% (2005 census)
Languages:	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):	total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2003)