Central America and the Caribbean > Nicaragua > Government

View full size

Administrative divisions 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	12 09 N, 86 17 W
Constitution 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005
Corruption	2.6		[115th of 160]
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address American Embassy Managua, APO AA 34021
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Executive branch > Chief of state President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
Government type	republic
Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Legal system civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
Parliamentary seats > Female	10%		[68th of 143]
Political parties and leaders Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Enrique SAENZ Navarrete]
Status democracy
Suffrage 16 years of age; universal
Time required to start a business > days	39 days		[72nd of 171]
Trademarks, residents	1,142		[47th of 98]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica

Related links:

• Forum discussion > Government
• Looking for Stats on the American Government? Check out StateMaster
• Stay updated with current stat feeds! Subscribe to the Government RSS / Atom feeds
•  Subscribe to our popular Government factoids RSS / Atom feeds
• Save this page on  del.icio.us / furl / your bookmarks

More facts and figures on Nicaragua