Nicaragua

Nicaraguans are predominantly of mixed European and Indigenous (Mestizo) heritage, with Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous communities along the Caribbean coast. Spanish is the official language.

Roman Catholicism is the traditional faith, with a growing evangelical Protestant minority; the Ortega government has clashed sharply with the Catholic Church.

Society

Nicaragua has a young population and moderate literacy but widespread poverty, with political repression since 2018 driving a wave of emigration to Costa Rica, the US, and Spain.