Nicaragua is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. Nearly 75% of the population lives in poverty while 50% lives on less than one dollar per day. Nicaragua's annual per capita income is $410. Largely unskilled and highly unemployed or underemployed, the labor force is estimated at 1.54 million.
The plight of the average Nicaraguan family is dire as:
- schooling for people less than 25 years of age averages a mere 3.8 years;
- twenty percent of the population under age five is chronically malnourished or stunted and will likely suffer from delayed physical, mental, social, and emotional development well into adulthood;
- fifty-five percent of children will suffer from anemia by the time that they are two-years old;
- four out of every 100 children will not celebrate their first birthday;
- the maternal mortality rate is among the highest in Latin America.
Though Nicaragua has the lowest population density in Central America, the Nicaraguan government still has great difficulty in providing their people with even basic services such as electricity, safe drinking water, and primary school education.
