Population and Demographics of Nicaragua
Population changed +1.36% in 2024 · median age 26 years
Age composition is uneven, with 28.76% below age 15 versus 5.53% at 65 and above; the working-age group accounts for 65.71%. Looking ahead, 8.76 million is projected for 2050 under the medium scenario, compared with 6.92 million in 2024.
Population Over Time in Nicaragua
The 2000 to 2024 record shows Nicaragua moving from 5.023M people to 6.916M, a 37.7% increase. By 2050, the medium path reaches 8.756M, which would make the population larger than in 2024. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
In 2024, Nicaragua's age mix can be described as young on the broad UN age-group measures. The youngest broad age group represents 28.76% of residents, against 5.53% in the 65+ group; the working-age band is 65.71%. The age balance is weighted toward younger residents.
Population by broad age group
Nicaragua's 2024 population is 50.8% female and 49.2% male in the World Bank series. Females exceed males by 1.6 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Females made up 50.8% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 49.2% males.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Population is moving +1.36% annually in Nicaragua, where fertility is estimated at 2.2, with younger residents at 28.76% and older residents at 5.53% of the total.
The historical series puts Nicaragua's 2000-to-2024 population change at +37.7%, before the medium projection moves another +26.6% to 2050; component causes are not assigned without separate births, deaths and migration data.
2024 estimate for Nicaragua. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Nicaragua vs. World
The comparison puts Nicaragua's +1.36% annual change beside a world rate of +0.87%, a fertility rate of 2.2 beside 2.25, and a median age of 26 years beside 30.6 globally.
| Indicator | Nicaragua | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | +1.36% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 2.2 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 26 | 30.6 | 2024 |
To keep the comparison defensible, all three indicators come from one harmonized 2024 table that attributes the demographic series to UN WPP 2024.
Key Takeaways
The 2024 total is 6,916,140 people. Annual change in the same harmonized table is +1.36%.
Age structure is a key feature of the profile: 28.76% are under 15 and 5.53% are 65 or older.
The 2024 female and male shares are 50.8% and 49.2% respectively.
By 2050, the medium projection is 8.756M, differing from 2024 by roughly 1.84 million people.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Nicaragua?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Nicaragua is 6,916,140 people.
Is the population of Nicaragua growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Nicaragua's population is growing, with annual change of +1.36%.
What percentage of the population of Nicaragua is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 5.53% of Nicaragua's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Nicaragua in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Nicaragua's 2050 population at 8,756,430.
What is the fertility rate in Nicaragua?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Nicaragua is 2.2 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.