Nicaragua

In 2010, the World Bank estimated the population of the Republic of Nicaragua at 5.8 million people. The national gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, as of 2010, was reported as $1,080 and the main exports include coffee, seafood, sugar, bananas, gold, and [Page 525]meat. The country's various ethnic groups are mestizo (mixed group of Amerindian and white), 69 percent; white, 17 percent; black, 9 percent; and Amerindian, 5 percent. They reside between the extensive Atlantic coastal plains and a narrow Pacific coastal plain that are interrupted by volcanoes. Spanish is the primary language, but other indigenous languages are spoken. The majority of the population is Catholic, but Protestantism is on the rise.