Nicaragua Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; drought

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 16.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 5.59 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 6.46 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Land use

agricultural land: 42.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 12.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 27.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 25.3% (2018 est.)

other: 32.5% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 59.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 1.26% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,528,816 tons (2010 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lago de Nicaragua - 8,150 sq km; Lago de Managua - 1,040 sq km

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 286 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 73.6 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 1.185 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

164.52 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Nicaragua on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nicaragua 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nicaragua 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.