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Nicaragua: map, flag, capital and key facts

Nicaragua is a country in North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, with about 7.01 million people (2025) and an area of 130,370 square kilometres. Its capital is Managua, and it shares land borders with 2 countries.

By Team Geography Last reviewed

Flag of Nicaragua
Flag of Nicaragua
Map showing where the country sits among its neighbours
Nicaragua in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.

Key facts about Nicaragua

CapitalManagua
ContinentNorth America
RegionCentral America and the Caribbean
Population7,007,502 2025, World Bank. 107th of 195.
Area130,370 km² (50,336 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 97th largest of 195.
Population density54 people per km²
Land neighbours2: Costa Rica, Honduras
Official nameRepublic of Nicaragua
UN statusMember state
Capital coordinates12.15° N, 86.27° W Managua, Natural Earth.

Land neighbours

Nicaragua borders 2 countries on land. Each links to its own page.

Costa RicaSan JoseHondurasTegucigalpa

From the Geography app

The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of Nicaragua's 5, in full.

PLACELens 1 of 5

The largest country in Central America, split by a great lake

Nicaragua covers 130,373 square kilometers, the largest country in Central America. Lake Nicaragua, at 8,264 square kilometers, is the biggest lake in Central America and one of the few freshwater lakes in the world that contains bull sharks. A chain of active volcanoes runs along the Pacific side, and the sparsely populated Caribbean lowlands, known as the Mosquito Coast, account for over half the country's territory but hold less than 15% of its population.

More on Mosquito Coast

The Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua, named after the Indigenous Miskitu people rather than the insect. The region was a British protectorate until the late 19th century and retains a distinct cultural identity, with English Creole, Miskitu, and other Indigenous languages spoken alongside Spanish.

4 more lenses on Nicaragua in the app

  • STORY The Sandinista revolution and its contested legacy
  • NOW From revolutionary government to authoritarian dynasty
  • NOW A proposed canal that may never be built
  • THREAD Cold War echoes in a 21st-century dictatorship

Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.

Compare Nicaragua with another country

Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.

Common questions

What is the capital of Nicaragua?
The capital of Nicaragua is Managua. Managua lies at about 12.2 degrees north and 86.3 degrees west. Nicaragua is in North America, in the region often called Central America and the Caribbean. It is home to about 7.01 million people.
What is the population of Nicaragua?
About 7.01 million people live in Nicaragua, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 107th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 130,370 square kilometres, that is about 54 people per square kilometre.
What countries border Nicaragua?
Nicaragua shares land borders with 2 countries: Costa Rica and Honduras. The map on this page outlines each of them around Nicaragua. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is Nicaragua?
Nicaragua covers 130,370 square kilometres, or about 50,336 square miles. That makes it the 97th largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 7.01 million gives a density of 54 people per square kilometre.

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