The Cordoba is the national currency of Nicaragua. Divided into 100 centavos (cents), the currency was introduced on March 20, 1912 and was originally equal to the US dollar. The currency's name stems from its founder, Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba.
In 1987, the "new cordoba" (nueva córdoba) was introduced at a rate equal to 1,000 "old" córdobas. In 1991, the cordoba was re-introduced, with one being worth 10 million of the "new córdobas" of the previous decade.
| Moody's Rating |
| B2 |
| S&P Rating |
| N/A |
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Sovereign credit ratings play an important part in determining a country's access to international capital markets, and the terms of that access. Sovereign ratings help to foster dramatic growth, stability, and efficiency of international and domestic markets.
What does it look like?
Political Structure
Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with executive, legislative, judicial and electoral branches of government.
The executive branch contains the President (who serves as both chief of state and head of government), the Vice President, and the cabinet. The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term.
The legislative branch is made up of the unicameral National Assembly, in which a total of 93 members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms.
The judicial branch contains the Supreme Court, with 12 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly.
Prominent Figures
President: Daniel Ortega Saavedra
Vice President: Jaime Morales Carazo
Secretary of the Presidency: Eduardo Montealegra
Attorney General: Hernan Estrada
Prosecutor General: Julio Centeno
President, Central Bank: Atenor Rosales
Key Economic Factors
Economic Overview: Nicaragua is among the world's poorest countries, facing a low per capita income, substantial unemployment and huge external debt. In addition, the nation's income distribution is one of the most unequal on the globe. While Nicaragua is on its way to macroeconomic stability, GDP growth has not been strong enough to meet the nation's needs. However, the economy has succeeded in its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and thus qualified for $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 2004. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development.
Key Industries: Food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear and wood.
Agricultural Products: Coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans, beef, veal, pork, poultry and dairy products.
Import Commodities: Consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials and petroleum products.
Export Commodities: Coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold and peanuts.
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