About Nicaragua

Please visit our Vision Nicaragua Missions Blog

Hurricanes

Throughout the 1900's Nicaragua was subjected to violent storms and Hurricanes such as Hurricane Juana of 1988 in which 116 people were killed and unknown numbers left missing.

But nothing had prepared the Nicaraguan people for the horrific power of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. A massive storm, this weather system lingered off the coast of Nicaragua for days on end producing intense winds, while dumping torrential rain upon the country.

These rains soon produced killing mudslides and floods on a scale never before seen in Nicaragua. To this day the people of Nicaragua still suffer from the legacy of Hurricane Mitch.

• Largest country in Central America (5,000,000 people)
• Spanish and Indian Ancestry
• Named for the Indian chief Nicarao
• Cotton and bananas are the leading produce
• Winter (rainy season) May to October. Summer (dry season) November to April.
• 15% tax rate (IGV)
• National currency is the Cordoba (20 C's to the dollar).
• 90% of the population is nominally Catholic
• Current capitol is Managua (since 1851). Leon was the capitol previously.
• The Cathedral of Leon is the largest in Central America
• The momtomobo volcano destroyed Old Leon tn the 17th Century
• Know as the land of lakes and volcanos, 14 active volcanos pose a constant threat
• Average household income is $450.00 per year
• 44% of population is under 15 years old
• Disaster History