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...