!!!Nicaragua: Economy Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports. \\ \\ The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many Nicaraguan agricultural and manufactured goods. \\ \\ In 2013, the government granted a 50-year concession to a newly formed Chinese-run company to finance and build an inter-oceanic canal and related projects, at an estimated cost of $50 billion. The canal construction has not started. !!Economic Facts ||GDP (purchasing power parity)|$33.49 billion (2016 est.) \\ $32.04 billion (2015 est.) \\ $30.54 billion (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars \\ ||GDP (official exchange rate)|$13.41 billion (2015 est.) ||GDP - real growth rate|4.5% (2016 est.) \\ 4.9% (2015 est.) \\ 4.6% (2014 est.) ||GDP - per capita (PPP)|$5,300 (2016 est.) \\ $5,100 (2015 est.) \\ $4,900 (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars \\ ||Gross national saving|22.8% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 23.6% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ 19.7% of GDP (2014 est.) ||GDP - composition, by end use|''household consumption'': 79.4% \\ ''government consumption'': 7.2% \\ ''investment in fixed capital'': 32.1% \\ ''investment in inventories'': 1.6% \\ ''exports of goods and services'': 36.2% \\ ''imports of goods and services'': -54.9% (2016 est.) \\ ||GDP - composition, by sector of origin|''agriculture'': 16.9% \\ ''industry'': 24.3% \\ ''services'': 58.8% (2016 est.) \\ ||Agriculture - products|coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, corn, tobacco, cotton, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters ||Industries|food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, knit and woven apparel, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood, electric wire harness manufacturing, mining ||Industrial production growth rate|5% (2016 est.) ||Labor force|3.013 million (2016 est.) ||Labor force - by occupation|''agriculture'': 31% \\ ''industry'': 18% \\ ''services'': 50% (2011 est.) \\ ||Unemployment rate|6% (2016 est.) \\ 6.1% (2015 est.) \\ ''__note__'': underemployment was 46.5% in 2008 \\ ||Population below poverty line|29.6% (2015 est.) ||Household income or consumption by percentage share|''lowest 10%'': 1.4% \\ ''highest 10%'': 41.8% (2005) \\ ||Distribution of family income - Gini index|40.5 (2010) \\ 60.3 (1998) ||Budget|''revenues'': $3.454 billion \\ ''expenditures'': $3.738 billion (2016 est.) \\ ||Taxes and other revenues|25.7% of GDP (2016 est.) ||Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)|-2.1% of GDP (2016 est.) ||Public debt|46.2% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 45.7% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ ''__note__'': official data; data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmen \\ ||Fiscal year|calendar year ||Inflation rate (consumer prices)|4.1% (2016 est.) \\ 4% (2015 est.) ||Central bank discount rate|3% (31 December 2010) ||Commercial bank prime lending rate|15% (31 December 2016 est.) \\ 12.05% (31 December 2015 est.) ||Stock of narrow money|$1.228 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $1.093 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ||Stock of broad money|$4.453 billion (31 December 2013 est.) \\ $4.136 billion (31 December 2012 est.) ||Stock of domestic credit|$5.732 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $5.677 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ||Market value of publicly traded shares|$NA ||Current account balance|-$1.077 billion (2016 est.) \\ -$1.045 billion (2015 est.) ||Exports|$3.108 billion (2016 est.) \\ $3.341 billion (2015 est.) ||Exports - commodities|coffee, beef, gold, sugar, peanuts, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, cigars, automobile wiring harnesses, textiles, apparel, cotton ||Exports - partners|US 56.5%, Mexico 10.7%, Venezuela 5.4%, El Salvador 4.3% (2015) ||Imports|$6.039 billion (2016 est.) \\ $6.083 billion (2015 est.) ||Imports - commodities|consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products ||Imports - partners|US 19.9%, Mexico 14.9%, China 10.6%, Venezuela 7%, Costa Rica 7%, El Salvador 5.7%, Guatemala 5.6%, Netherlands Antilles 5.5% (2015) ||Reserves of foreign exchange and gold|$2.442 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $2.492 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ||Debt - external|$11.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $10.64 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ||Exchange rates|cordobas (NIO) per US dollar - \\ 28.68 (2016 est.) \\ 27.257 (2015 est.) \\ 27.257 (2014 est.) \\ 26.01 (2013 est.) \\ 23.55 (2012 est.)