Nicaragua: Economy#
Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports.The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many Nicaraguan agricultural and manufactured goods.
In 2013, the government granted a 50-year concession to a newly formed Chinese-run company to finance and build an inter-oceanic canal and related projects, at an estimated cost of $50 billion. The canal construction has not started.
Economic Facts#
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $33.49 billion (2016 est.) $32.04 billion (2015 est.) $30.54 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
|---|---|
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $13.41 billion (2015 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2016 est.) 4.9% (2015 est.) 4.6% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $5,300 (2016 est.) $5,100 (2015 est.) $4,900 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 22.8% of GDP (2016 est.) 23.6% of GDP (2015 est.) 19.7% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 79.4% government consumption: 7.2% investment in fixed capital: 32.1% investment in inventories: 1.6% exports of goods and services: 36.2% imports of goods and services: -54.9% (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by sector of origin | agriculture: 16.9% industry: 24.3% services: 58.8% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, corn, tobacco, cotton, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 3.013 million (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 31% industry: 18% services: 50% (2011 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6% (2016 est.) 6.1% (2015 est.) note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008 |
| Population below poverty line | 29.6% (2015 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 41.8% (2005) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 40.5 (2010) 60.3 (1998) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.454 billion expenditures: $3.738 billion (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 25.7% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2.1% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 46.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 45.7% of GDP (2015 est.) note: official data; data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmen |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (2016 est.) 4% (2015 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate | 3% (31 December 2010) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 15% (31 December 2016 est.) 12.05% (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $1.228 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $1.093 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $4.453 billion (31 December 2013 est.) $4.136 billion (31 December 2012 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $5.732 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $5.677 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $NA |
| Current account balance | -$1.077 billion (2016 est.) -$1.045 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports | $3.108 billion (2016 est.) $3.341 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, gold, sugar, peanuts, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, cigars, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles, apparel, cotton |
| Exports - partners | US 56.5%, Mexico 10.7%, Venezuela 5.4%, El Salvador 4.3% (2015) |
| Imports | $6.039 billion (2016 est.) $6.083 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | US 19.9%, Mexico 14.9%, China 10.6%, Venezuela 7%, Costa Rica 7%, El Salvador 5.7%, Guatemala 5.6%, Netherlands Antilles 5.5% (2015) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $2.442 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.492 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Debt - external | $11.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $10.64 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Exchange rates | cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - 28.68 (2016 est.) 27.257 (2015 est.) 27.257 (2014 est.) 26.01 (2013 est.) 23.55 (2012 est.) |