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2022
Economic Complexity
Trade -0.97Rank 110 of 133
2022
Product
Exports | Imports $7.92B | $10.6B111 of 226 |  114 of 226
2022
Per Capita Product
Exports | Imports $1.14k | $1.53k121 of 220 |  107 of 220

About

Overview In 2022, Nicaragua was the number 129 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 111 in total exports, the number 114 in total imports, the number 142 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 110 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Nicaragua are Knit T-shirts ($1B), Gold ($979M), Coffee ($778M), Insulated Wire ($706M), and Rolled Tobacco ($407M), exporting mostly to United States ($4.09B), Mexico ($943M), Honduras ($541M), El Salvador ($437M), and Costa Rica ($230M).

Imports The top imports of Nicaragua are Refined Petroleum ($779M), Knit T-shirts ($667M), Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric ($510M), Crude Petroleum ($331M), and Packaged Medicaments ($302M), importing mostly from United States ($2.72B), China ($1.18B), Honduras ($1.02B), Guatemala ($1B), and Mexico ($994M).

Location Nicaragua borders Costa Rica and Honduras by land and Colombia and El Salvador by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Nicaragua.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Knit T-shirts$1B
Top Destination (2022)United States$4.09B

In 2022, Nicaragua exported a total of $7.92B, making it the number 111 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Nicaragua have changed by $2.66B from $5.26B in 2017 to $7.92B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Knit T-shirts ($1B), Gold ($979M), Coffee ($778M), Insulated Wire ($706M), and Rolled Tobacco ($407M). The most common destination for the exports of Nicaragua are United States ($4.09B), Mexico ($943M), Honduras ($541M), El Salvador ($437M), and Costa Rica ($230M).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
Honduras$209M (+ 63%)
Mexico$171M (+ 22.2%)
United States$170M (+ 4.34%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
United States$609M (+ 28.9%)
Honduras$600M (+ 144%)
United Kingdom$179M (+ 1.21k%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

Nicaragua Exports Services (2019)$907M
Nicaragua Imports Services (2019)$843M

In 2019, Nicaragua exported $907M worth of services. The top services exported by Nicaragua in 2019 were Personal travel ($503M), Computer and information services ($186M), Government services, n.i.e. ($107M), Transportation ($60.2M), and Other business services ($32.9M).

The top services imported by Nicaragua in 2019 were Transportation ($394M), Personal travel ($177M), Other business services ($106M), Insurance services ($81.3M), and Government services, n.i.e. ($46.6M).

Service Exports (2019)

Service Imports (2019)

Economic Complexity

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Nicaragua has a high level of specialization in Ground Nut Oil (151), Non-Knit Men's Undergarments (103), Ground Nuts (78.4), Knit Women's Shirts (66.7), and Knit T-shirts (53.5). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Nicaragua observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Nicaragua according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Weaving machines (looms) (1.39), Pig fat (including lard) and poultry fat, other than that of heading... (0.74), Ink; printing, writing or drawing ink and other inks; whether or not... (0.41), Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; cable-drums of... (0.33), and Synthetic filament yarn (other than sewing thread), not put up for retail... (0.21). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Nicaragua according to the relatedness index, were Tropical Fruits (0.17), Pepper (0.17), Perfume Plants (0.17), Cement (0.17), and Packing Bags (0.17). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Nicaragua is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Nicaragua. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Nicaragua exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2022)

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Nicaragua's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨nullth to the 110th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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