Departments of Nicaragua

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

	Department	Capital	Population (2005)	Area (km²)	Pop. Density
1	Boaco Department	Boaco	150,636	4177	36
2	Carazo Department	Jinotepe	166,073	1081	154
3	Chinandega Department	Chinandega	378,970	4822	79
4	Chontales Department	Juigalpa	153,932	6481	24
5	Estelí Department	Estelí	201,548	2230	90
6	Granada Department	Granada	168,186	1040	162
7	Jinotega Department	Jinotega	331,335	9222	36
8	León Department	León	355,779	5138	69
9	Madriz Department	Somoto	132,459	1708	78
10	Managua Department	Managua	1,262,978	3465	365
11	Masaya Department	Masaya	289,988	611	475
12	Matagalpa Department	Matagalpa	469,172	6804	69
13	Nueva Segovia Department	Ocotal	208,523	3491	60
14	Rivas Department	Rivas	156,283	2162	72
15	Río San Juan Department	San Carlos	95,596	7541	13
16	Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte	Bilwi	314,130	33,106	10
17	Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur	Bluefields	306,510	27,260	11

Zelaya Department

In 1986, 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. Defense, etc. is the responsibility of the Central Government in Managua.

See also

• ISO 3166-2:NI