Nicaragua Environment - 2024

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

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.)

Revenue from forest resources

1.26% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 5.59 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 6.46 megatons (2020 est.)

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 (2020 est.)

industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 1.08 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

164.52 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 1

global geoparks and regional networks: Rio Coco (2023)