---
title: "Nicaragua — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Nicaragua: capital Managua, area 130,370 km², population 7,007,502 (2025), currency Nicaraguan córdoba. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/nicaragua/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Nicaragua

**Nicaragua: Capital Managua**

130,370 km² · 7,007,502 people (2025) · Nicaraguan córdoba

The largest country in Central America. Lake Nicaragua covers about 8,260 km² and holds Ometepe, an island made of two volcanoes joined by an isthmus, and a population of bull sharks that swim up the San Juan River from the sea. Masaya is one of the few volcanoes anywhere with a permanently visible lava lake.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Managua
- **Area:** 130,370 km² — 50,336 sq mi
- **Population:** 7,007,502 (2025)
- **Density:** 53.8 people per km²
- **Currency:** Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO, C$)
- **Official language:** Spanish
- **Time zone:** UTC-06:00
- **Calling code:** +505
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** NI · NIC
- **Continent:** North America

## How it compares

- **By area:** 97 of 200
- **By population:** 109 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tajikistan | 144,100 | 10,786,734 |
| Greece | 131,957 | 10,413,962 |
| Nicaragua ← | 130,370 | 7,007,502 |
| North Korea | 120,538 | 26,571,036 |
| Malawi | 118,484 | 22,216,120 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Nicaragua?

Managua

### What currency does Nicaragua use?

The Nicaraguan córdoba (NIO).

### How big is Nicaragua?

130,370 km², or 50,336 square miles — 97 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Nicaragua drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [Tajikistan](https://atoneplace.net/country/tajikistan/)
- [Greece](https://atoneplace.net/country/greece/)
- [North Korea](https://atoneplace.net/country/north-korea/)
- [Malawi](https://atoneplace.net/country/malawi/)
- [United States](https://atoneplace.net/country/united-states/)
- [Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/country/mexico/)
- [Canada](https://atoneplace.net/country/canada/)
- [Guatemala](https://atoneplace.net/country/guatemala/)
- [Haiti](https://atoneplace.net/country/haiti/)
- [Dominican Republic](https://atoneplace.net/country/dominican-republic/)
- [Honduras](https://atoneplace.net/country/honduras/)
- [Cuba](https://atoneplace.net/country/cuba/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]