Demographics of Nicaragua
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ethnically, Nicaragua is a relatively homogeneous country. In 1993 some 86% of Nicaraguans were latinos--people of European or mixed European and indigenous descent, who shared a national Hispanic culture. They are mostly of Spanish descent, but the 19th century saw several small waves of immigration from other European-Mediterranean countries. Most of the Mestizo and European population can be found in the west of the country. Modern Nicaragua generally has been spared the bitter ethnic conflicts that other Latin American countries with large culturally distinct indigenous populations have suffered. In Nicaragua, friction has involved relations between the Ladinos, who predominate in the west (the Pacific lowlands and central highlands), and the non-Ladino minorities (indigenous peoples and Creoles) of the east or Caribbean lowlands.
About 9% of Nicaragua's population is black, and the black population is concentrated on the east coast. The black population is mostly of West Indian origin, the descendants of indentured laborers brought mostly from Jamaica when the region was a British protectorate. There is also a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed African, Carib and Arawak descent.
The remaining 5% is comprised of the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Colombian population consisted of the Nahuatl-speaking Nicarao people of the west, and six ethnic groups including the Miskitos, Ramas and Sumos in the Caribbean region. While very few pure-blooded Nicarao people still exist, the Caribbean peoples have remained distinct. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the eastern half of the country - the former department of Zelaya - into two autonomous regions and granted the African and indigenous people of the region limited self-rule.
There is also a small Middle Eastern community of Syrians, Armenians, Palestinian and Lebanese in Nicaragua with a total population of about 30,000, and an East Asian community of Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese that add up to almost 8,000.
Spanish is spoken by about 90% of Nicaraguans; the Nicaraguan dialect has many similarities to Galician, and also has similarities to Argentinian Spanish. The black population of the east coast region has English as its first language. Several indigenous peoples of the east still use their original languages.
Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion. evangelical Protestant groups have decreased significantly recently, and there are strong indigionus communities on the Caribbean coast.
90% of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. See also Nicaraguan Diaspora and INEC.
Population: 5,483,400 (2005 census)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 971,580; female 936,888)
15-64 years: 57% (male 1,372,169; female 1,392,861)
65 years and over: 3% (male 60,539; female 78,532) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.2% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 28.26 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.74 years
male: 66.81 years
female: 70.77 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan
Ethnic groups: European descendant and mestizo (mixed European and Indian) 86%, African 9%, Indian 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant
Languages: Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 65.7%
male: 64.6%
female: 66.6% (1995 est.)
