Departments of Nicaragua

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

Departments

ISO	Department or autonomous region	Capital	Population (2023)^[1]	Area (km²)	Pop. density (km⁻²)
NI-BO	Boaco	Boaco	188,809	4,176.68	45.21
NI-CA	Carazo	Jinotepe	200,894	1,081.40	185.77
NI-CI	Chinandega	Chinandega	445,784	4,822.42	92.44
NI-CO	Chontales	Juigalpa	193,827	6,481.27	29.91
NI-ES	Estelí	Estelí	233,077	2,229.69	104.53
NI-GR	Granada	Granada	219,244	1,039.68	210.88
NI-JI	Jinotega	Jinotega	499,289	9,222.40	54.14
NI-LE	León	León	426,850	5,138.03	83.08
NI-MD	Madriz	Somoto	181,328	1,708.23	106.15
NI-MN	Managua	Managua	1,585,801	3,465.10	457.65
NI-MS	Masaya	Masaya	409,265	610.78	670.07
NI-MT	Matagalpa	Matagalpa	613,262	6,803.86	90.13
NI-NS	Nueva Segovia	Ocotal	282,800	3,491.28	81.00
NI-RI	Rivas	Rivas	185,514	2,161.82	85.81
NI-SJ	Río San Juan	San Carlos	140,786	7,540.90	18.67

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 North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region and the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The Charter of Autonomy is largely based on the model used by Spain. The communities are governed by a Governor and a Regional Council.^[2]

ISO	Map	Department or autonomous region	Capital	Population (2023)^[3]	Area (km²)	Pop. density (km⁻²)
NI-AN		North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region	Bilwi	563,088	33,105.98	17.01
NI-AS		South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region	Bluefields	434,270	27,260.02	15.93

^ "Anuario Estadistico 2022" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Información de Desarrollo. February 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ Clarisa Indiana Ibarra Rivera. "El modelo de justicia en las regiones autónomas de la costa Caribe nicaragüense: ¿utopia o realidad?" (PDF). corteidh.or.cr. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
^ "Anuario Estadistico 2022" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Información de Desarrollo. February 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

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.

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