Distillers Nicaragua
A one-page guide to Nicaragua for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Managua
- Official languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Cordoba (NIO)
- Time zone
- UTC-6
- Area
- 130,370 km²
People
- Population
- 7.0 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 1.3% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 59.4%
- Aged under 15
- 28.3%
- Aged 65 and over
- 5.7%
- Life expectancy
- 75.1 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$22.2 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$3,173 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 4.9% (2025)
- Inflation
- 2.1% (2025)
Climate
Pacific lowlands are hot (highs 29-32 C all year) with a dry season November-April and rain May-October (1,016-1,524 mm). Central highlands are cooler (24-27 C) with a longer, wetter rainy season. The Caribbean coast is hot, humid and tropical.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 to purchase (no minimum drinking age)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 4.26 litres of pure alcohol (2022-2024 average (WHO estimate for 2024))
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank indicators (population, area, GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation); WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator SA_0000001688; UN Comtrade public API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Flor de Cana; Wikipedia: Nicaragua; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Nicaragua - other taxes; EntryBrief: Nicaragua customs allowances (secondary; cites national customs). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.