Environment
Nicaragua
Climate
tropical in the lowland areas, cooler in the highland regions
Geoparks
global geoparks and regional networks
Rio Coco (2023)
total global geoparks and regional networks
1
Land use
other
17.6% (2023 est.)
forest
40.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
42.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 12.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 2.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 27.4% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
59.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
1.529 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
15% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
deforestation; soil erosion; water contamination; drought
Total water withdrawal
municipal
190 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial
620,000 cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
1.084 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
3.806 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
2 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
3.806 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
16.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
164.52 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental 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