Statistics About Nicaragua

1. Education

• 2% of Nicaragua’s population could use the internet as of 2004
• 10+ years required to complete primary-level education
• 79% of primary school-aged children are enrolled
• 29% of children complete primary-level education
• 25-year-old curriculum used for primary and secondary education
• Very limited basic materials or supplies available to teachers for instruction
• Inadequate books and desks available to students

2. Health Care

• Adolescent pregnancies account for 1 in 4 births nationally.
• 33% of children have some degree of chronic malnutrition and 9% suffer from severe malnutrition
• Public health care often fails to provide adequate care due to long wait times, lack of well-trained doctors and inadequate facilities
• 53% of the U.S. population wears contacts or glasses, whereas in rural Nicaragua, it is rare to find anyone wearing glasses

3. Commerce Development

• Nicaragua has a per-capita gross national product of $453
• 1 in 4 households is led by single women
• 45% of all income goes to the richest 10% of the country’s population, while only 14% goes to the poorest
• The blue-collar workforce has left the country to find employment elsewhere
• Many of the people who left during the 1980s have returned with well-educated children who are now entering the workforce where there is a shortage of jobs

4. Infrastructure

• Safe water and sanitation coverage continues to be low, particularly in rural areas and those with dispersed populations
• Access to rural areas is often impossible due to impassable roads during the rainy season
• Telecommunications and Internet service is not available in rural areas

5. Community Pride

• Communities are not united to resolve problems
• Litter fills every road in Nicaragua