Nicaragua Population

Nicaragua's population still grows, but emigration has surged since the political crisis of 2018, with hundreds of thousands leaving for Costa Rica and the United States. Fertility has fallen close to the replacement level, far below the large families of a generation ago. The projection has the population peaking in the early 2070s before a gentle decline.

Nicaragua is home to about 7.1 million people in 2026, the 109th largest population of any country. A country of Central America, its trajectory to 2100 is governed by how births, deaths and migration play out. Population density stands at about 59 people for every square kilometre of land.

Growth continues for Nicaragua until around 2072, the year its population is set to crest at about 9.2 million. From there a slow fall takes it to roughly 8.6 million by century's end.

Half of Nicaragua is currently younger than about 26, but by 2100 the median age is projected to reach around 47, while life expectancy, near 75 years, keeps rising. A rising median age means fewer working-age people supporting each retiree over time.

At roughly 2.21 births per woman, fertility remains above replacement, though it has been trending down. Net outward migration also weighs on the total, with more people leaving than arriving.

All of this is a projection, not a prediction. The further out it runs the wider the plausible range becomes, which is why Nicaragua's charts show a low-to-high band around the central line.