Departments of Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a unitary republic, divided for administrative purposes into fifteen departments (departamentos) and two autonomous regions (regiónes autónomas):

ISO	Map	Department or autonomous region	Capital	Population (2012)	Area (km2)	Pop. density (km-2)
NI-BO	100px	Boaco	Boaco	174,682	4,177	41.8
NI-CA	100px	Carazo	Jinotepe	186,898	1,081	172.8
NI-CI	100px	Chinandega	Chinandega	432,062	4,822	87.7
NI-CO	100px	Chontales	Juigalpa	153,932	6,481	24
NI-ES	100px	Estelí	Estelí	201,548	2,230	90
NI-GR	100px	Granada	Granada	168,186	1,040	162
NI-JI	100px	Jinotega	Jinotega	331,335	9,222	36
NI-LE	100px	León Department	León	355,779	5,138	69
NI-MD	100px	Madriz	Somoto	132,459	1,708	78
NI-MN	100px	Managua	Managua	2,132,421	3,465	365
NI-MS		Masaya	Masaya	289,988	611	475
NI-MT	100px	Matagalpa	Matagalpa	469,172	6,804	69
NI-NS		Nueva Segovia	Ocotal	208,523	3,491	60
NI-RI	100px	Rivas	Rivas	156,283	2,162	72
NI-SJ		Río San Juan	San Carlos	95,596	7,541	13
NI-AN	100px	North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region	Bilwi	314,130	33,106	10
NI-AS		South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region	Bluefields	306,510	27,260	11

Autonomous regions

In 1987, the new constitution established the Charter of Autonomy (limited self-government) for the former department of Zelaya, comprising the entire eastern half of the country. The department was divided into two autonomous regions (communities). The Charter of Autonomy is largely based on the model used by Spain. The communities are governed by a Governor and a Regional Council.

See also

• ISO 3166-2:NI

Bibliography

• Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER). División Política Administrativa del País. March, 2000.
• Instituto Nicaragüense de Fomento Municipal (INIFOM). Municipios – General.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions. ISO 3166-2:NI.