Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 is a unitary

Unitary state

A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...

 republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

, and for administrative purposes, it is divided into 15 departments (departamentos) and two self-governing regions (autonomous communities) based on the Spanish model:

	Department	Capital	Population (2005)	Area (km²)	Pop. Density
1	Boaco Department	Boaco Boaco Boaco is the capital city and municipality of the Boaco department of Nicaragua. The municipality of Boaco has a population of 56,900 and an area of 1,086.81 km² while the department is 4,177 km2....	150,636	4177	36
2	Carazo Department	Jinotepe Jinotepe, Carazo Jinotepe is a municipality in the Carazo department of Nicaragua....	166,073	1081	154
3	Chinandega Department	Chinandega Chinandega Chinandega is a town and the departmental seat of Chinandega department in Nicaragua. It is also the administrative centre of the surrounding municipality of the same name. The city has a population of 121,793 inhabitants with 151,000 in the municipality...	378,970	4822	79
4	Chontales Department	Juigalpa Juigalpa, Chontales Juigalpa is the capital city of the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. It is located within the municipality of Juigalpa, approximately 140 km east of Managua on Carretera Rama, in the central region of Nicaragua....	153,932	6481	24
5	Estelí Department	Estelí Estelí Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...	201,548	2230	90
6	Granada Department	Granada Granada, Nicaragua Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...	168,186	1040	162
7	Jinotega Department	Jinotega Jinotega Jinotega is the capital of Jinotega Department in the north central region of Nicaragua.-About:The capital city of the Department of Jinotega is the City of Jinotega. The Department of Jinotega produces 80% of the nation's coffee. It has a population of about 51,000 living inside a vast valley...	331,335	9222	36
8	León Department	León León, Nicaragua León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...	355,779	5138	69
9	Madriz Department	Somoto Somoto, Madriz Somoto, meaning The Valley of Geese, is a town located in the hills of northern Nicaragua around 20 km south-west of Ocotal, and is in the municipality of Madriz. It was founded as a town in 1867, and since 1936, has been the capital of Madriz. Somoto is also home to the Somoto Canyon, a relatively...	132,459	1708	78
10	Managua Department	Managua Managua Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...	1,262,978	3465	365
11	Masaya Department	Masaya Masaya Masaya, culturally known as the City of Flowers, is the capital city of Masaya department. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast from Managua. The town of Masaya is situated just East of Masaya Volcano , an active volcano from which the city takes its name...	289,988	611	475
12	Matagalpa Department	Matagalpa Matagalpa Matagalpa is a city in Nicaragua, the capital of the department of Matagalpa. The city has a population of 109,100 , while the population of the department is more than 480,000. Matagalpa is Nicaragua's fifth largest city and one of its most commercially active outside of Managua...	469,172	6804	69
13	Nueva Segovia Department	Ocotal Ocotal Ocotal is the capital of the Nueva Segovia Department in Nicaragua, Central America.-Description:Ocotal is the capital of the Nueva Segovia Department in Nicaragua with light industry and crafts. The main agricultural production is coffee. The city, which has a population of 31,932 , is located...	208,523	3491	60
14	Rivas Department	Rivas	156,283	2162	72
15	Río San Juan Department	San Carlos San Carlos, Río San Juan San Carlos is the capital city of the municipality of San Carlos and of the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua. The city proper has a population of roughly 12,174, while the city and surrounding communities contain 37,461 as of 2005. San Carlos is positioned on the confluence of Lake Nicaragua...	95,596	7541	13
16	Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte , sometimes shortened to RAAN, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 32,159 km² and has a population of 249,700 . It is the largest autonomous region or department in Nicaragua...	Bilwi Bilwi Bilwi, with an approximate population of 60,000, is the main city of the municipality of Puerto Cabezas in the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua....	314,130	33,106	10
17	Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur , sometimes shortened to RAAS, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 27,407 km² and has a population of 382,100...	Bluefields Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...	306,510	27,260	11

Zelaya Department

In 1986, the new constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 established the Charter of Autonomy (limited self-government) for the former department of Zelaya, comprising the entire eastern half of the country. The department was divided into two autonomous regions (communities). The Charter of Autonomy is largely based on the model used by Spain. The communities are governed by a Governor and a Regional Council. Defense, etc. is the responsibility of the Central Government in Managua.

External links

• Instituto Nicaragüense de Fomento Municipal
• Portal de la Región del Norte de Nicaragua
• Portal de la ciudad de Estelí, Nicaragua