Nicaragua

Nicaragua,[b] officially the Republic of Nicaragua,[c] is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising 130,370 km2 (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024,[13] it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras.

Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and shares maritime borders with El Salvador to the west and Colombia to the east. The country's largest city and national capital is Managua, the fourth-largest city in Central America, with a population of 1,055,247 as of 2020. Nicaragua is known as "the breadbasket of Central America" due to having the most fertile soil and arable land in all of Central America.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage. The country's most spoken language is Spanish, though indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.

Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War[broken anchor] of the 1980s.

The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío. Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes",[20][21] Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest rainforest of the Americas.[22] The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination.[23][24] Nicaragua co-founded the United Nations[25] and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement,[26] Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America,[27] and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.[28]