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Updates: 

Nicaragua abandoned DST after a two-year trial in 2005-06.

Sorin Cosoveanu pointed out to me the results of the 2005 census.

"Administrative Subdivisions of Countries" shows Nicaragua divided into sixteen departments. As a sidelight, it mentions that there is an alternative division into six regions and three special zones. Each of the regions and special zones consists of one or more departments, except that Zelaya department is split into two special zones: Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte, and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur. The FIPS and ISO standards have now begun to treat these special zones as department-level divisions.

Erratum: Population data in the book are 1990 estimates, not a 1991 census.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-2 was published on 2002-05-21. For Nicaragua, it replaces Zelaya department with two autonomous regions named Atlántico Norte and Atlántico Sur.

Country overview: 

Short name	NICARAGUA
ISO code	NI
FIPS code	NU
Language	Spanish (es)
Time zone	-6
Capital	Managua

 

Nicaragua has been independent for the whole 20th century.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Nicaragua
2. Dutch: Nicaragua, Republiek Nicaragua (formal)
3. English: Republic of Nicaragua (formal)
4. Finnish: Nicaragua
5. French: Nicaragua m
6. German: Nicaragua n
7. Icelandic: Nikaragúa
8. Italian: Nicaragua m
9. Norwegian: Nicaragua, Republikken Nicaragua (formal)
10. Portuguese: Nicarágua, República f da Nicarágua f (formal)
11. Russian: Республика Никарагуа (formal)
12. Spanish: Nicaragua, República f de Nicaragua f (formal)
13. Swedish: Nicaragua
14. Turkish: Nikaragua Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Named for Nicarao, chief of the tribe of Nicaraos

Primary subdivisions: 

Nicaragua is divided into fifteen departamentos (departments) and two regiones autónomas (sing. región autónoma: autonomous regions).

Department	HASC	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Zone	Capital
Boaco	NI.BO	NU01	150,636	4,177	1,613	C	Boaco
Carazo	NI.CA	NU02	166,073	1,081	418	P	Jinotepe
Chinandega	NI.CI	NU03	378,970	4,822	1,862	P	Chinandega
Chontales	NI.CO	NU04	153,932	6,481	2,502	C	Juigalpa
Estelí	NI.ES	NU05	201,548	2,230	861	C	Estelí
Granada	NI.GR	NU06	168,186	1,040	401	P	Granada
Jinotega	NI.JI	NU07	331,335	9,222	3,561	C	Jinotega
León	NI.LE	NU08	355,779	5,138	1,984	P	León
Madriz	NI.MD	NU09	132,459	1,708	660	C	Somoto
Managua	NI.MN	NU10	1,262,978	3,465	1,338	P	Managua
Masaya	NI.MS	NU11	289,988	611	236	P	Masaya
Matagalpa	NI.MT	NU12	469,172	6,804	2,627	C	Matagalpa
Nueva Segovia	NI.NS	NU13	208,523	3,491	1,348	C	Ocotal
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte	NI.AN	NU17	314,130	32,820	12,672	A	Bilwi
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur	NI.AS	NU18	306,510	27,546	10,636	A	Bluefields
Río San Juan	NI.SJ	NU14	95,596	7,540	2,911	A	San Carlos
Rivas	NI.RI	NU15	156,283	2,162	835	P	Rivas
17 divisions			5,142,098	130,373	50,337
Department: except RAAN and RAAS, which are autonomous regions. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. If periods are replaced by hyphens, these are the same as the department codes from ISO/DIS 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 2005-05-28 census (source [5]). Area: Column totals include lakes. Zone: Nicaragua is unofficially divided into three zones: Atlantic (A), Central (C), and Pacific (P).

Postal codes: 

Correos de Nicaragua , Nicaragua's postal service, says that the country has a set of five-digit postal codes, in which the first digit represents the department, the next two digits represent the municipality, and the last two represent the district. I'm not sure how that works out when there are seventeen departments. The postal service site doesn't have any facility for looking up specific postal codes yet.

Further subdivisions:

See the Municipalities of Nicaragua page.

The departments are subdivided into municipios (municipalities). Since 1982-07-26, there has also been a subdivision into six regions and three special zones. However, the departments are still the divisions most often referenced. The regions are:

Name	Capital	Departments
Región I	Estelí	Estelí, Madriz, Nueva Segovia
Región II	León	Chinandega, León
Región III	Managua	Managua
Región IV	Jinotepe	Carazo, Granada, Masaya, Rivas
Región V	Juigalpa	Boaco, Chontales
Región VI	Matagalpa	Jinotega, Matagalpa
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte	Rosita	Zelaya (part)
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur	Bluefields	Zelaya (part)
Zona Especial III	San Carlos	Río San Juan

 

The parts of Zelaya are also known by their acronyms, RAAN and RAAS; or as Zelaya Norte and Zelaya Sul. In the latest FIPS list, they have separate codes of NU17 and NU18, respectively, superseding Zelaya.

Territorial extent: 

1. Granada includes Zapatera Island in Lake Nicaragua.
2. Río San Juan includes the Solentiname Archipelago in Lake Nicaragua.
3. Rivas includes Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua.
4. Zelaya includes Nicaragua's Caribbean islands: the Corn Islands (Isla Grande del Maíz and Isla Pequeña del Maíz), the Cayos Miskitos, and some islets.

Origins of names: 

1. Granada, León, and Segovia were named for cities in Spain.
2. Gracias a Dios: Spanish for thanks to God, name bestowed on the cape by Columbus in 1502 after finding refuge from a storm in its lee
3. Managua: possibly from ethnic name
4. Nueva Segovia: Spanish nueva: new, named when the department was split from Segovia
5. Zelaya: after general and president José Santos Zelaya

Change history: 

1. 1900: Nicaragua consisted of the departments of Chinandega, Chontales, Granada, Leon, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Segovia, Rivas, and Zelaya (also known as Mosquito Reservation).
2. ~1902: Districts of Cabo Gracias a Dios, Prinzapolka, Rio Grande, and Siquia formed from the eastern parts of Chontales, Matagalpa, and Segovia; Estelí and Jinotega also split from Segovia; Carazo split from Granada.
3. ~1915: District of San Juan del Norte split from Chontales.
4. ~1938: Status of Cabo Gracias a Dios changed from district to comarca; Boaco split from Chontales; Segovia split into Madriz and Nueva Segovia; Zelaya merged with the four districts.
5. ~1957: Río San Juan formed from parts of Chontales and Zelaya.
6. ~1977: Cabo Gracias a Dios merged with Zelaya.
7. 1982-07-26: Six regions and three special zones formed as a higher-level subdivision of Nicaragua.
8. ~1988-01-01: Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur established.
9. ~1994: Name of capital of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte changed from Puerto Cabezas to Bilwi. The municipio is still named Puerto Cabezas, and the capital is frequently called by its old name.
10. ~1998: Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur considered to be on the same level with the departments. Before this time, they were together known as Zelaya department (HASC NI.ZE, FIPS NU16, capital Bluefields).
11. 2005-02-01: A small part of R.A.A.S. transferred to R.A.A.N. in order to form Mulukukú municipio.

Population history:

Department	1940	1950-05-31	1963-04-25	1971-04-20	1995-04-25	2005-05-28
Boaco	40,320	50,039	72,000	69,355	136,949	150,636
Cabo Gracias a Dios		17,323
Carazo	58,381	52,138	66,000	71,494	149,407	166,073
Chinandega	78,529	81,836	129,000	154,726	350,212	378,970
Chontales	61,027	50,529	76,000	69,059	144,635	153,932
Estelí	51,954	43,742	69,000	79,400	174,894	201,548
Granada	51,561	48,732	66,000	71,579	155,683	168,186
Jinotega	48,494	48,554	77,000	92,567	257,933	331,335
León	89,631	123,614	150,000	167,519	336,894	355,779
Madriz	34,623	33,178	50,000	54,020	107,567	132,459
Managua	133,745	161,513	319,000	504,126	1,093,760	1,262,978
Masaya	69,107	72,446	77,000	93,890	241,354	289,988
Matagalpa	116,766	135,401	171,000	173,758	383,776	469,172
Nueva Segovia	27,856	27,078	46,000	65,719	148,492	208,523
Zelaya/R.A.A.N.	69,911	56,497	89,000	149,016	192,716	314,130
R.A.A.S.					272,252	306,510
Río San Juan		9,089	16,000	21,159	70,143	95,596
Rivas	51,255	45,314	64,000	74,156	140,432	156,283
Total	983,160	1,057,023	1,537,000	1,911,543	4,357,099	5,142,098

 

Notes: In 1940, population of Zelaya includes Cabo Gracias a Dios and San Juan del Norte. 1963 data rounded to nearest 1,000.

Sources: 

1. [1] Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1951 edition (1940 census data)
2. [2] Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, 1957 edition (1950 census data)
3. [3] Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition, Chicago, 1984 (1963 census data)
4. [4] Data from the legend of a Nicaragua map, acquired in 1974 from a Nicaraguan bank (1971 census data)
5. [5] VIII Censo de Población y IV de Vivienda : Población: Municipios, Volumen IV. Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos, 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-09. The 1995 data were retrieved about 2004-12-01 from the same site.

6. [6] Library of Congress country study .