<!-- "none" is a legitimate description when the title is already adequate; see WP:SDNONE -->
According to , Nicaragua has a population of . A 2014 study published in the journal Genetics and Molecular Biology, Indigenous ancestry predominates in 74% of Nicaraguans, followed by African ancestry in 14%, and lastly European ancestry in 11%. A Japanese research of "Genomic Components in America's demography" demonstrated that, on average, the ancestry of Nicaraguans is 30% European, 68% Native American, and 2% African, with a very small Near Eastern contribution. Non-genetic data from the CIA World Factbook establishes that from Nicaragua's 2016 population of 5,966,798, around 45% are mestizo, 12% white, 29% Native American, and 14% black. This fluctuates with changes in migration patterns. The population is 58% urban .
Following the Sandinista revolution in 1979, many of the migrants who left the country were landed people of upper and middle-class origin who wanted to avoid the Sandinistas' agrarian reforms that were being carried out. A growing number of these people have returned, while many continue to live abroad.
42.5% of the population lives below the poverty line. The general poverty rate is estimated at 47.3%, although much of the population falls in the lower middle class due to low salaries and a low GDP (US$1000–3000).
The most populous city in the country is the capital city, Managua, with a population of 1.2 million (2005). As of 2005, over 4.4 million inhabitants (82%) live in the Pacific, Central and Northern regions. 2.7 million inhabitants (about 50%, not including Managua) reside in the Pacific region alone, while inhabitants in the Caribbean region only reach an estimated 700,000.
The Census Bureau in Nicaragua is the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). The institution is in charge of completing censuses and surveys. INEC ran its first census in 1906, the last census was taken in 2005, it was the eighth to date.
Population
thumb|450px|Nicaragua's total population, 2005. Number of inhabitants in thousands.
According to the total population was in , compared to only 1,295,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 34.5%, 60.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.6% was 65 years or older
.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! rowspan=2|Year
! rowspan=2 width="70pt"|Total population<br /> (million)
! colspan=3 width="70pt"|Proportion percentage
|-
! aged 0–14
! aged 15–64
! aged 65+
|-
| 1950
|1 295
|
|
|
|-
| 1955
|1 508
|
|
|
|-
| 1960
|1 775
|
|
|
|-
| 1965
|2 063
|
|
|
|-
| 1970
|2 400
|
|
|
|-
| 1975
|2 798
|
|
|
|-
| 1980
|3 250
|
|
|
|-
| 1985
|3 710
|
|
|
|-
| 1990
|4 138
|
|
|
|-
| 1995
|4 659
|
|
|
|-
| 2000
|5 069
|
|
|
|-
| 2005
|5 439
|
|
|
|-
| 2010
|5 824
|
|
|
|-
| 2015
|6 223
|
|
|
|-
| 2020
|6 625
|
|
|
|}
Structure of the population
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="80pt"|Age group
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80pt"|Female
! width="80pt"|Total
! width="80pt"|%
|-
| align="right" | Total
| align="right" | 2 844 244
| align="right" | 2 898 072
| align="right" | 5 742 316
| align="right" | 100
|-
| align="right" | 0-4
| align="right" | 347 205
| align="right" | 332 920
| align="right" | 680 125
| align="right" | 11.84
|-
| align="right" | 5-9
| align="right" | 336 817
| align="right" | 323 279
| align="right" | 660 096
| align="right" | 11.50
|-
| align="right" | 10-14
| align="right" | 344 831
| align="right" | 332 925
| align="right" | 677 756
| align="right" | 11.80
|-
| align="right" | 15-19
| align="right" | 331 536
| align="right" | 329 072
| align="right" | 660 608
| align="right" | 11.50
|-
| align="right" | 20-24
| align="right" | 286 484
| align="right" | 290 439
| align="right" | 576 923
| align="right" | 10.05
|-
| align="right" | 25-29
| align="right" | 250 672
| align="right" | 260 730
| align="right" | 511 402
| align="right" | 8.91
|-
| align="right" | 30-34
| align="right" | 197 120
| align="right" | 214 967
| align="right" | 412 087
| align="right" | 7.18
|-
| align="right" | 35-39
| align="right" | 162 472
| align="right" | 174 845
| align="right" | 337 317
| align="right" | 5.87
|-
| align="right" | 40-44
| align="right" | 136 223
| align="right" | 143 572
| align="right" | 279 795
| align="right" | 4.87
|-
| align="right" | 45-49
| align="right" | 115 914
| align="right" | 124 028
| align="right" | 239 942
| align="right" | 4.18
|-
| align="right" | 50-54
| align="right" | 98 355
| align="right" | 107 733
| align="right" | 206 088
| align="right" | 3.59
|-
| align="right" | 55-59
| align="right" | 74 173
| align="right" | 80 156
| align="right" | 154 329
| align="right" | 2.69
|-
| align="right" | 60-64
| align="right" | 45 221
| align="right" | 48 460
| align="right" | 93 681
| align="right" | 1.63
|-
| align="right" | 65-69
| align="right" | 43 121
| align="right" | 46 230
| align="right" | 89 351
| align="right" | 1.56
|-
| align="right" | 70-74
| align="right" | 32 418
| align="right" | 35 443
| align="right" | 67 861
| align="right" | 1.18
|-
| align="right" | 75-79
| align="right" | 22 249
| align="right" | 25 956
| align="right" | 48 205
| align="right" | 0.84
|-
| align="right" | 80+
| align="right" | 19 433
| align="right" | 27 317
| align="right" | 46 750
| align="right" | 0.81
|-
! width="50"|Age group
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80"|Female
! width="80"|Total
! width="50"|Percent
|-
| align="right" | 0-14
| align="right" | 1 028 853
| align="right" | 989 124
| align="right" | 2 017 977
| align="right" | 35.14
|-
| align="right" | 15-64
| align="right" | 1 698 170
| align="right" | 1 774 002
| align="right" | 3 472 172
| align="right" | 60.47
|-
| align="right" | 65+
| align="right" | 117 221
| align="right" | 134 946
| align="right" | 252 167
| align="right" | 4.39
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="80pt"|Age group
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80pt"|Female
! width="80pt"|Total
! width="80pt"|%
|-
| align="right" | Total
| align="right" | 3 357 138
| align="right" | 3 446 748
| align="right" | 6 803 886
| align="right" | 100
|-
| align="right" | 0–4
| align="right" | 328 587
| align="right" | 314 177
| align="right" | 642 764
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 5–9
| align="right" | 339 464
| align="right" | 324 833
| align="right" | 664 297
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 10–14
| align="right" | 338 766
| align="right" | 324 761
| align="right" | 663 527
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 15–19
| align="right" | 318 320
| align="right" | 306 443
| align="right" | 624 763
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 20–24
| align="right" | 299 073
| align="right" | 290 339
| align="right" | 589 412
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 25–29
| align="right" | 294 819
| align="right" | 293 641
| align="right" | 588 460
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 30–34
| align="right" | 272 934
| align="right" | 282 281
| align="right" | 555 215
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 35–39
| align="right" | 240 254
| align="right" | 255 454
| align="right" | 495 708
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 40–44
| align="right" | 209 895
| align="right" | 231 173
| align="right" | 441 068
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 45–49
| align="right" | 167 212
| align="right" | 190 927
| align="right" | 358 139
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 50–54
| align="right" | 137 219
| align="right" | 154 183
| align="right" | 291 402
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 55–59
| align="right" | 115 265
| align="right" | 128 180
| align="right" | 243 445
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 60–64
| align="right" | 97 984
| align="right" | 111 544
| align="right" | 209 528
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 65-69
| align="right" | 79 279
| align="right" | 92 356
| align="right" | 171 635
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 70-74
| align="right" | 51 336
| align="right" | 60 269
| align="right" | 111 605
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 75-79
| align="right" | 30 342
| align="right" | 36 448
| align="right" | 66 790
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 80+
| align="right" | 36 389
| align="right" | 49 739
| align="right" | 86 128
| align="right" |
|-
! width="50"|Age group
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80"|Female
! width="80"|Total
! width="50"|Percent
|-
| align="right" | 0–14
| align="right" | 1 006 817
| align="right" | 963 771
| align="right" | 1 970 588
| align="right" | 28.96
|-
| align="right" | 15–64
| align="right" | 2 152 975
| align="right" | 2 244 165
| align="right" | 4 397 140
| align="right" | 64.63
|-
| align="right" | 65+
| align="right" | 197 346
| align="right" | 238 812
| align="right" | 436 158
| align="right" | 6.41
|-
|}
Population distribution
Ninety percent of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. The most populous city in Nicaragua is the capital city, Managua, with a population of 1.2 million (2005). As of 2005, over 4.4 million inhabitants live in the Pacific, Central and North regions, accounting for 82% of the population. There are 2.7 million residents in the Pacific region, not including Managua. The Caribbean region, including the Mosquito Coast, has an estimated 700,000 residents.
|-
!Rank !!City !!Department !!Pop. (2005)
|-
| style="text-align: center" |1 || Managua || Managua || 1,262,978
|-
| style="text-align: center" |2 || Matagalpa || Matagalpa || 469,172
|-
| style="text-align: center" |3 || Chinandega || Chinandega || 378,970
|-
| style="text-align: center" |4 || León || León || 355,779
|-
| style="text-align: center" |5 || Jinotega || Jinotega || 331,335
|-
| style="text-align: center" |6 || Puerto Cabezas || RAAN || 314,130
|-
| style="text-align: center" |7 || Bluefields || RAAS || 306,510
|-
| style="text-align: center" |8 || Masaya || Masaya || 289,988
|-
| style="text-align: center" |9 || Ocotal || Nueva Segovia || 208,523
|-
| style="text-align: center" |10 || Estelí || Estelí || 201,548
|-
| style="text-align: center" |11 || Granada || Granada || 168,186
|-
| style="text-align: center" |12 || Jinotepe || Carazo || 166,073
|-
| style="text-align: center" |13 || Rivas || Rivas || 156,283
|-
| style="text-align: center" |14 || Juigalpa || Chontales || 153,932
|-
| style="text-align: center" |15 || Boaco || Boaco || 150,636
|-
| style="text-align: center" |16 || Somoto || Madriz || 132,459
|-
| style="text-align: center" |17 || San Carlos || Río San Juan || 95,596
|-
| style="text-align: center" |18 || Total || -- || 5,142,098
|}
Vital statistics
UN estimates
Registration of vital events is in Nicaragua not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under sticky-header-multi" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! width="70"|Year
! width="70"|Population
! width="70"|Live births
! width="70"|Deaths
! width="70"|Natural increase
! width="70"|Crude birth rate
! width="70"|Crude death rate
! width="70"|Rate of natural increase
! width="70"| Crude migration (per thousands)
! width="70"|TFR
|-
| align="right" | 1990
| style="color: red"| 3,959,785
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1991
| align="right" | 4,058,434
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1992
| align="right" | 4,162,367
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1993
| align="right" | 4,268,685
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1994
| align="right" | 4,374,490
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1995
| align="right" | 4,476,881
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1996
| align="right" | 4,574,524
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1997
| align="right" | 4,669,352
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1998
| align="right" | 4,763,366
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 1999
| align="right" | 4,858,570
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 2000
| align="right" | 4,956,964
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 2001
| align="right" | 5,058,643
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 2002
| align="right" | 5,162,275
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 2003
| align="right" | 5,267,714
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|
|-
| align="right" | 2004
| align="right" | 5,374,820
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 2005
| align="right" | 5,483,447
| align="right" | 121,380
| align="right" | 16,770
| align="right" | 104,610
| align="right" | 22.1
| align="right" | 3.1
| align="right" | 19.0
|
| style="color: blue"| 2.94
|-
| align="right" | 2006
| align="right" | 5,522,606
| align="right" | 123,886
| style="color: blue"| 16,595
| align="right" | 107,291
| align="right" | 22.4
| style="color: blue"| 3.0
| align="right" | 19.4
| -12.3
| align="right" |
|-
| align="right" | 2007
| align="right" | 5,595,541
| align="right" | 128,171
| align="right" | 17,288
| align="right" | 110,883
| align="right" | 22.9
| align="right" | 3.1
| align="right" | 19.8
| -6.6
| align="right" | 2.51
|-
| align="right" | 2008
| align="right" | 5,668,876
| align="right" | 129,506
| align="right" | 18,262
| align="right" | 111,244
| align="right" | 22.8
| align="right" | 3.2
| align="right" | 19.6
| -6.5
| align="right" | 2.49
|-
| align="right" | 2009
| align="right" | 5,742,310
| align="right" | 132,222
| align="right" | 18,179
| align="right" | 114,043
| align="right" | 23.0
| align="right" | 3.2
| align="right" | 19.8
| -6.8
| align="right" | 2.49
|-
| align="right" | 2010
| align="right" | 5,815,524
| align="right" | 132,165
| align="right" | 19,944
| align="right" | 112,221
| align="right" | 22.7
| align="right" | 3.4
| align="right" | 19.3
| -6.6
| align="right" | 2.46
|-
| align="right" | 2011
| align="right" | 5,996,619
| align="right" | 140,958
| align="right" | 19,523
| align="right" | 121,435
| style="color: blue"| 23.5
| align="right" | 3.3
| style="color: blue"| 20.2
| 10.9
| align="right" | 2.54
|-
| align="right" | 2012
| align="right" | 6,071,045
| align="right" | 142,874
| align="right" | 20,300
| style="color: blue"| 122,574
| align="right" | 23.5
| align="right" | 3.3
| align="right" | 20.2
| -7.8
| align="right" | 2.54
|-
| align="right" | 2013
| align="right" | 6,134,270
| align="right" | 142,756
| align="right" | 21,381
| align="right" | 121,375
| align="right" | 23.3
| align="right" | 3.5
| align="right" | 19.8
| -9.4
| align="right" | 2.53
|-
| align="right" | 2014
| align="right" | 6,198,154
| align="right" | 143,421
| align="right" | 22,469
| align="right" | 120,952
| align="right" | 23.1
| align="right" | 3.6
| align="right" | 19.5
| -9.1
| align="right" | 2.52
|-
| align="right" | 2015
| align="right" | 6,262,703
| style="color: blue"| 144,597
| align="right" | 23,540
| align="right" | 121,057
| align="right" | 23.1
| align="right" | 3.8
| align="right" | 19.3
| -8.9
| align="right" | 2.52
|-
| align="right" | 2016
| align="right" | 6,327,927
| align="right" | 139,595
| align="right" | 23,738
| align="right" | 115,857
| align="right" | 22.1
| align="right" | 3.8
| align="right" | 18.3
| -7.9
| align="right" | 2.43
|-
| align="right" | 2017
| align="right" | 6,393,824
| align="right" | 139,487
| align="right" | 24,300
| align="right" | 115,187
| align="right" | 21.8
| align="right" | 3.8
| align="right" | 18.0
| -7.6
| align="right" | 2.42
|-
| align="right" | 2018
| align="right" | 6,460,411
| align="right" | 139,126
| align="right" | 24,296
| align="right" | 114,830
| align="right" | 21.5
| align="right" | 3.8
| align="right" | 17.7
| -7.3
| align="right" | 2.42
|-
| align="right" | 2019
| align="right" | 6,527,691
| align="right" | 131,673
| align="right" | 25,340
| align="right" | 106,333
| align="right" | 20.1
| align="right" | 3.9
| align="right" | 16.2
| - 5.8
| align="right" | 2.28
|-
| 2020
| 6,595,674
| 124,365
| 33,681
| 90,684
| 18.9
| style="color: red"| 5.1
| 13.8
| -3.4
| 2.16
|-
| 2021
| 6,664,000
| 120,473
| style="color: red"| 34,999
| 85,474
| 17.5
| 5.0
| 12.5
| -2.1
|
|-
| 2022
| style="color: blue"|6,734,000
| 118,118
| 26,858
| 91,260
| 17.5
| 4.0
| 13.5
|
|
|-
| 2023
| style="color: blue"|
| style="color: red"| 106,439
| 26,162
| style="color: red"| 80,277
| style="color: red"| 15.6
| 3.8
| style="color: red"| 11.8
|
| style="color: red"| 1.8
|-
| 2024
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|-
| 2025
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|}
Demographic and Health Surveys
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=2| Year
! colspan=2| Total
! colspan=2| Urban
! colspan=2| Rural
|-
! CBR !! TFR
! CBR !! TFR
! CBR !! TFR
|-
| 1998
| style="text-align:right;"| 29
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,6 (2,5)
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,9 (2,0)
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,0 (3,3)
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| 2001
| style="text-align:right;"| 27
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,2 (2,3)
| style="text-align:right;"| 24
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,6 (1,8)
| style="text-align:right;"| 31
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,4 (3,0)
|-
| 2006–2007
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,7
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,2
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,5
|-
| 2011/2012
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,4
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,1
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,9
|-
|}
Ethnic groups
thumb|An [[Afro-Nicaraguan.]]
According to the 2005 census 2,063,100 (29.9%) residents consider themselves to belong to an indigenous people or to an ethnic community. The remaining majority of the Nicaraguan population (71%) are deemed mestizo and white, with the majority of these being of Spanish, with some German, Italian, Portuguese and French ancestry. Mestizos and whites mainly reside in the western region of the country.
Possibly also a part of the black or Afro-Nicaraguan population, which mainly resides on the country's sparsely populated Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast, is included in the majority population which does not consider itself to belong to an ethnic community. In the 2005 census, there were 966,000 Creoles (14% of the total population). The Creole population is mostly of Afro-Caribbean origin, the descendants of indentured laborers brought mostly from Jamaica when the region was a British colony.
Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from European nations. In particular the northern cities of Jinotega and Matagalpa have significant populations of fourth generation Germans.
The Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent, numbered 207,000 in 2005 (3%). 55,200 people considered themselves "Mestizo de la Costa Caribe" (mestizo of the Caribbean coast). In addition to the inhabitants who declared themselves Indigenous or Ethnic community, 13,740 answered "Other". Another 47,473 responded "Not Sure" and an additional 19,460 responded "Ignore".
Indigenous population
The Native American population, the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants, numbered 2,063,100 (29.9% of the total population) in 2005. In recent years, many Nicaraguans had left the country to escape poverty and unemployment.
Nicaraguan emigration is a recent process. During the 1990–2004 period, more than 800,000 Nicaraguans left the country, compared to 100,000 during the 1970–1989 period. According to the World Bank, in 2005 there were 683,520 Nicaraguans living outside Nicaragua legally. If those who are undocumented are counted, some sources estimate as many as 1,500,000 Nicaraguans living abroad by the end of 2005. Nicaraguans are the third largest community of Central Americans living abroad, after Guatemalans and Salvadorans. Nicaragua is also the second country in Central America by percentage of population living abroad.
Following the return of Daniel Ortega to power in the 2006 Nicaraguan general election and subsequent democratic backsliding, especially during and after the violently suppressed 2018 Nicaraguan protests, a new wave of political emigration occurred. Most political emigrants live in Costa Rica which has been a stable representative democracy since the end of the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948. Other target countries of political emigration include the United States and European countries, particularly Spain.
Remittances to Nicaragua represent about 15% of the country's GDP. In 2008 Nicaragua received close to one billion dollars in remittances; an increase from the $750,000,000 received in 2007, according to the World Bank