Nicaragua
Republic of Nicaragua
República de Nicaragua
CAPITAL: Managua
FLAG: The national flag consists of a white horizontal stripe between two stripes of cobalt blue, with the national coat of arms centered in the white band.
ANTHEM: Salve a ti, Nicaragua (Hail to You, Nicaragua).
MONETARY UNIT: The gold córdoba (C$) is a paper currency of 100 centavos. There are coins of 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos and 1 and 5 córdobas, and notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 5,000,000, and 10,000,000 córdobas. C$1 = US$0.0668 (or US$1 = C$14.96) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but some local units also are used.
HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; Liberation Day (Revolution of 1979), 19 July; Battle of San Jacinto, 14 September; Independence Day, 15 September; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
TIME: 6 AM = noon GMT.
Location, Size, and Extent
Nicaragua, the largest of the Central American countries, has an area of 129,494 sq km (49,998 sq mi), which includes the area covered by the waters of Lake Nicaragua (about 8,000 sq km/3,089 sq mi) and Lake Managua (about 1,025 sq km/396 sq mi).
