According to the Nicaraguan Economy Profile 2010, Nicaragua is still considered to be the poorest country in Central America and has widespread underemployment and poverty. There are currently 2.283 million people in the labor force and about 8.2% of the population are unemployed, which has improved since 1998 when the unemployment rate was 46%. The NIcaraguan economy relies on the export of agricultural commodities such as coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, seafood, and meat.
The current currency is the cordoba; 20 cordobas equals 1 U.S. dollar. The minimum monthly salary for a Nicaraguan individual is $40-50 U.S. dollars. (Nurses only make about $400 U.S. dollars a month!)
*The Cafe Don Paco coffee farm in the mountains of Matagalpa.