Capital City: Managua
Population: 5.90 million
Life expectancy: male 70.81 years, female 75.26 years
Population with improved drinking water: urban 99.3%, rural 69.4%
Adult literacy rate: male 82.4%, female 83.2%
Infant mortality rate: 19.65/1000
Under 5 mortality rate: 24/1000
Religion: Roman Catholic 58.5%, Protestant 23.2% (Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%), Jehovah's Witnesses 0.9%, other 1.6%, none 15.7% (2005 est.)
Percentage living on less than $1.90 a day: 10.83%
As a result of nearly two centuries of dictatorships, civil wars and natural disasters, Nicaragua is one of the poorest Central American countries. Like much of the region, Nicaragua was a Spanish colony until becoming an independent republic in 1838.
The 20th century brought with it violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption in the form of a short-lived, but bloody civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Subsequent elections have been marred by huge irregularities and the onslaught of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 further weakened this already struggling nation.
Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Textiles and agriculture account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports. The Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which began in 2006, has helped the country to expand its export opportunities, but growth remains slow.
Years of war and mismanagement have taken their toll on Nicaragua’s children. A third of all children in Nicaragua are malnourished and only 29% of children finish their primary schooling. As a result, children in Nicaragua are forced to grow up early with as many as 167,000 children currently working to support their families. Teenage pregnancy is also a problem with adolescent pregnancies accounting for a quarter of all births.
Compassion began registering children into Nicaragua's programmes in 2002. Currently, more than 50,100 children are being released from poverty thanks to the life-saving care given by our 174 church partners.
In Nicaragua, children typically attend their Compassion projects after school and on Saturdays. During a typical project day, sponsored children will participate in activities such as:
Additional activities offered by projects in Nicaragua: