North America · Central America
Nicaragua
Nicaragua covers about 129,000 km² (49,700 mi²), the 99th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Greece, at about 131,000 km².
- 129,000km²Area, main territory
- 5.1 millionPopulation
- 4.20In Belgiums
100 km
- Nicaragua
Facts
| Area, main territory | 129,000 km²49,700 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 120,000 km²Wikidata · 6.9% below our measure |
| In Belgiums | 4.20 |
| Capital | Managua |
| Population | 5.1 millionWikidata, 2005 |
| Density | 40 people per km² |
| Latitude range | 11°N to 15°N |
| In other languages | Nicarágua Português · ニカラグア 日本語 · 尼加拉瓜 中文 · 니카라과 한국어 |
| Continent | North America#5 of 27 countries by area |
What the numbers say about Nicaragua
- Russia, the largest place listed, is 132× the size of Nicaragua.
- Nicaragua ranks 98th of 239 by area but only 124th of 237 by population: it holds fewer people than its size suggests.
- At 40 people per km², Nicaragua is the 125th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
- Nicaragua lies at 13°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.1×.
- Laid out flat, Nicaragua's main territory stretches about 480 km north to south and 492 km east to west.
- Our measured 129,000 km² is 6.9% above Wikidata's official figure of 120,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
How Nicaragua measures up
Nicaragua holds 0.5% of the land area and 0.9% of the people of the 27 countries listed for North America. In Central America it is the 2nd largest of 8.
| Where it ranks | Figure | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 129,000 km² | 98th of 239 |
| Population | 5.1 million | 124th of 237 |
| Density | 40 per km² | 125th of 185 |
| Farthest north | 12.8°N | 129th of 212 |
| Compared with | Its area | Nicaragua is |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 30,700 km² | 4.20× its size |
| United Kingdom | 244,000 km² | 0.53× its size |
| Germany | 358,000 km² | 0.36× its size |
| Japan | 374,000 km² | 0.34× its size |
| France | 548,000 km² | 0.23× its size |
| India | 3,151,000 km² | 0.04× its size |
| Brazil | 8,473,000 km² | 0.02× its size |
| United States | 9,447,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
| Russia | 16,980,000 km² | 0.01× its size |
Where Nicaragua sits
- Nicaragua's centre lies at 12.8°N, 85.0°W, in the northern and western hemispheres, about 1,430 km from the equator.
- Its main territory spans 11°N to 15°N, about 480 km from its southern edge to its northern.
Closest neighbours, by distance between centres
On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world
If Nicaragua had other densities
- At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Nicaragua would have 161.2 million people. It has 5.1 million.
- At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Nicaragua would have 479,000 people. It has 5.1 million.
- At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 9.3 million.
About the same size as
Largest in North America
- Canada9,946,000 km²
- United States9,447,000 km²
- Greenland2,154,000 km²
- Mexico1,958,000 km²
- Nicaragua#5 · 129,000 km²
Compare Nicaragua
Share this outline
Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
- Population
- Wikidata, 2005; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
- Data built
- 2026-11-11