Population
A 1985 government study classified 69.4 percent of the population as poor on the basis that they were unable to satisfy one or more of their basic needs in housing, sanitary services (water, sewage, and garbage collection), education, and employment. According to the United Nations Development Programme, 48% of the population of Nicaragua live below the poverty line, 79.9% of the population live with less than $2 per day, and according to UN figures, 80% of the indigenous people (who make up 5% of the population) live on less than $1 per day. The average American lives on $94 per day, which is a vast difference!
As of 2013, the population of Nicaragua is 6.08 million people. The capital Managua is the biggest city with an estimated 2.2 million population in 2010 and more than 2.5 million living in the greater area. In 2005 over 5.0 million people lived in the Pacific, Central and North regions, and 700,000 in the Caribbean region. Nicaragua has a population growth rate of 1.5% as of 2013.