Nicaragua 🇳🇮
Nicaragua is a country in North America with a population of 6,948,392. Its capital is Managua. The official currency is NIO, and the main languages are Spanish.
Quick facts
- Capital: Managua
- Continent: North America
- Population: 6,948,392
- Area: 130,373 km²
- Density: 53.3 people per km²
- Currency: NIO
- Languages: Spanish
- ISO code: NI
Where Nicaragua sits
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at Managua. It covers 130,373 square kilometres — 96th in the world — and is home to about 6,948,392 people, 105th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Nicaragua compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Nicaragua sits closest to Libya and Bulgaria. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Greece and North Korea.
At 53.3 people per square kilometre it is close to the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries here, among them Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, and 15 others. The NIO is used by Nicaragua and no one else.
To see Nicaragua next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Nicaragua
Managua sits on the shore of Lake Managua. Nicaragua's flag has a rainbow in the triangle, which makes it one of the very few national flags with purple in it, like Dominica's.
The flag of Nicaragua: blue and white
🇳🇮 The flag is three horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue, with the coat of arms, a triangle with a rainbow and volcanoes, in the centre. The blue stripes stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for the land between them. The design is based on the flag of the old Federal Republic of Central America.
Region and neighbours
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America by area, with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It shares land borders with 2 countries: Honduras and Costa Rica.
- Honduras ðŸ‡ðŸ‡³ — capital Tegucigalpa
- Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
Three facts about Nicaragua
- Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America by area.
- Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, is a freshwater lake where bull sharks are found.
- Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua, is formed by two volcanoes.
Sources: Wikipedia: Nicaragua, Wikipedia: Flag of Nicaragua, Wikipedia: Managua, Wikipedia: Lake Nicaragua, Wikipedia: Ometepe, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Nicaragua
- North American capitals quiz — match Nicaragua to Managua
- North American flags quiz — spot the Nicaragua flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Nicaragua
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Nicaragua those are:
- North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- North America capitals quiz — match it to Managua
- Nicaragua capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Nicaragua
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Nicaragua
- Capital of Nicaragua: Managua — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 23 countries of North America
Nearby countries
- Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
- Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
- Barbados 🇧🇧 — capital Bridgetown
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
- Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
- Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
- Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
- Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 — capital Santo Domingo
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
- Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
- Guatemala 🇬🇹 — capital Guatemala City
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Nicaragua flag?
The flag of Nicaragua is three horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue, with the coat of arms, a triangle with a rainbow and volcanoes, in the centre. The blue stripes stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for the land between them. The design is based on the flag of the old Federal Republic of Central America.
Which countries border Nicaragua?
Nicaragua shares land borders with Honduras and Costa Rica.
How can I remember the capital of Nicaragua?
Managua sits on the shore of Lake Managua. Nicaragua's flag has a rainbow in the triangle, which makes it one of the very few national flags with purple in it, like Dominica's.