Translated's Research Center

Nicaragua

North America

To which language should you translate to localize in Nicaragua?

LANGUAGE INSIGHT

Official language

Spanish (95.3%; 6.71 mln)

Actual languages

Spanish (95.3%; 6.71 mln), Miskito (2.2%; 155k), English Creole (0.5%; 35k), Sumo (0.2%; 14k), other (1.8%; 126k)

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Nicaragua

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

  • 53/150 localize by translating into Spanish
  • 2/150 localize by translating into LatAm Spanish
  • 1/150 localizes by translating into both Spanish and Nicaraguan Sign Language
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Available in

If you need others information, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data


Overview

Language

Official language
Spanish (95.3%)

Actual languages
Miskito (2.2%), English Creole (0.5%), Sumo (0.2%), other (1.8%).

T-index
0.018%

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.

English
Moderate proficiency (EF) – 62 of 113 countries/regions in the world- 14/20 position in Latin America.

Demography

Capital: Managua
Currency: Nicaraguan córdoba
Population: 7.04 milion
Population density: 56.93/km2

Economy

GDP: 17.83 billion USD (2023)
GDP per capita: 2,530.29 USD ‎(2023) ‎
Exports: $7.92 billion (2022)

Statistics

Unemployment rate4.79% (2022)
Urbanisation: 59.85% (2023)
Literacy
82.6%
Internet users61.5% penetration, 4.36 million

Conventions

Numbering system
Arabic numerals with comma as decimal separator.

Date format: dd-mm-yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00505

Language data sources: Worldatlas/Britannica//EF/Wikipedia; Demography data sources: IMF/Worldometers; Conventions data source: Wikipedia; Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal; Statistics data sources: Datareportal/WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/Culturalatlas/Commisceoglobal/Worlddata

Facts and data


Economy

Imports
$10.6 billion (2022). Refined Petroleum ($779M), Knit T-shirts ($667M), Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric ($510M), Crude Petroleum ($331M), and Packaged Medicaments ($302M), importing mostly from United States ($2.72B), China ($1.18B), Honduras ($1.02B), Guatemala ($1B), and Mexico ($994M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 23.2% have an account with a financial institution
• 2.9% have a credit card
• 6.6% have a mobile money account

Ease of doing business
Moderate Easy to conduct business (54.4 out of 100), 27 out of 32 Latin American & Caribbean countries, 144 worldwide out of 190 countries (2023, World Bank).

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 17th out of 19 Latin American & Caribbean countries, 115th out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Exports
$7.92 billion (2022). Knit T-shirts ($1B), Gold ($979M), Coffee ($778M), Insulated Wire ($706M), and Rolled Tobacco ($407M), exporting mostly to United States ($4.09B), Mexico ($943M), Honduras ($541M), El Salvador ($437M), and Costa Rica ($230M).

Main local online stores
amazon.com, encuentra24.com and ebay.com.

Economic freedom
‘Mostly unfree’ (53.4 out of 100), 25th out of 32 countries in the Americas region, and 122 worldwide out of 184 countries (2024, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).

Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal


Service Imports (2019)
Service Exports (2019)

Source: OEC

Trade balance of goods from 2013 to 2023

Source: Statista

Historical Data Trade Imports

The following section uses historical trade data imports from partners of Nicaragua.

Historical Data Trade Exports

The following section uses historical trade data exports from partners of Nicaragua.

Source: OEC

Export Opportunities by Relatedness
Most complex products by PCI

Source: OEC

Nicaragua's Most Specialized Products

Specialization is measured using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), an index that takes the ratio between Nicaragua observed and expected exports in each product.

Source: OEC

Market Growth Imports (2019)

This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start importing that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.

Market Growth Exports (2019)

This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start exporting that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.

Source: OEC

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)

Source: WorldBank


T-index

T-index

Reach most of the online purchasing power

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.

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Media

Media language
Spanish

Information channels
For most Nicaraguans, radio and TV are the main sources of news. There are more than 100 radio stations, many of them in the capital, and several TV networks. “Journalism as a whole is stigmatised,” says Reporters Without Borders. The group says journalists face harassment, arbitrary arrest and death threats. Many of the main TV networks favour particular political factions and members of the ruling elite have financial stakes in media outlets, says Freedom House, asserting that the Ortega administration “engages in systematic efforts to obstruct and discredit media critics”.

The press

La Prensa – daily
Confidencial – weekly
Nicaragua Investiga – online news site

Television

Nicavision Canal 12 – commercial
Canal 10 – commercial
Telenica Canal 8 – commercial
Canal 4 – commercial
Canal 2 – commercial

Radio

Radio Corporacion – commercial
Radio Mundial – commercial
Radio Nicaragua – government-owned
La Sandino – Sandinista-controlled

Media data source: BBC


Internet Data

Internet users
61.5% penetration, 4.36 million

Share of web traffic by device
41.84% mobile phones, 57.07% computers (laptops and desktops), 1.06% tablet devices and 0.04% other devices.

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
16.41  Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
51.16 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 120%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 93.5%

Most popular web search engines
Google (94.93%), Bing (4.44%), Yahoo! (0.27%), DuckDuckGo (0.13%), Yandex (0.01%), other (0.13%)

Most used social media
Facebook (66.16%), Pinterest (11.62%), Instagram (11.51%), YouTube (5.17%), Twitter (4.28%), LinkedIn (0.61%), Reddit (0.3%), other (0.35%)

Internet data sources: Datareportal/Statcounter


Social statistics

Life expectancy
75 yrs (2022)

Ethnicity
The population is composed as follows: 69% Mestizo; 7% European descendants; 9% Africans; 5% Indigenous. Nicaraguans are very respectful of how others think and act. In general, religion and ethnicity do not affect workplace relations.

Corruption perceptions Index
Nicaragua scored 19 out of 100, ranked 167 out 180 countries worldwide.

Current health expenditure
9.68% of GDP

CO2 emissions
0.7 metric tons per capita

Religion
73% of the population is Roman Catholic and the other 16% are protestant.

Class
In the urban context, there are three main categories:
High class: Aristocratic families (with identifiable surnames) and upper echelon business people;
Middle class: Professionals and small business;
Low class: which includes paid labourers, people living in poor neighbourhoods and marginal urban and peri-urban areas. Class issues are less conspicuous in rural areas, being mostly determined by access to land and natural and economic resources.

World Happiness Index
Nicaragua ranked 45 out of 146 countries, with a score of 6.165

Current education expenditure
88.6% of total expenditure in public institutions

Social statistics sources: WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF


The Data Factbook is a work in progress project. Our community is helping us to fill it up always with new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write your advices at imminent@translated.com


Country Curiosities


Nicaragua’s cultural diversity is enriched by the Miskito people, an indigenous group living primarily along the remote northeastern Mosquito Coast. This less-traveled region offers a rare glimpse into their centuries-old traditions and way of life. The Miskito people speak their own language and maintain distinct customs, setting them apart from the Hispanic influences that dominate much of the country. Their culture reflects a unique blend of indigenous, African, and colonial heritage, making the Miskito a vital part of Nicaragua’s cultural mosaic.

Additionally…

  • Nicaragua’s name combines Nicarao, the indigenous tribe by Lake Nicaragua, and the Spanish word “agua” for its abundant water features.
  • While Spanish is the official language, Nicaragua has preserved pre-colonial languages like Misquito and Garifuna, along with Creole English.
  • Nicaragua is rich in water resources, with Lake Cocibolca covering 8,264 square kilometers, the largest in Central America and third largest in Latin America.
  • Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Nicaragua is highly seismically active and has 58 volcanic formations, six of which are active.
  • In 2024, the Tobacco Products market in Nicaragua is projected to generate a revenue of €243.5m.
  • Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, despite not being particularly large on a global scale.
  • Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, and second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, though it offers free healthcare to its citizens.
  • Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America, with a homicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 people, and the sixth safest in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Nicaragua was colonized by both the Spanish and the British, a rare occurrence in the Americas.

The geographical distribution of languages that you will find in the maps published in this section is a work in progress. Our community is helping us to fill it up with always new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write to imminent.factbook@translated.com


Photo credit: SL_Photography, iStock