"Nicaragua has ... one of the highest degrees of income inequality in the world." - CIA World Factbook

Submitted by will305 on 23 June, 2008 - 00:23.

Also about Nicaragua: "transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing "

For many more interesting public information on Nicaragua, check out what the CIA has to say at the CIA World Factbook:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html...

‹ NO street signs/addresses in Nicaragua? Would you tell a friend to move to Nicaragua now? ›
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Income inequality? Those

Submitted by thunderdial on 24 June, 2008 - 16:21.

Income inequality? Those dolts completely forgot about the entire African continent.

The victim

Submitted by fyl on 23 June, 2008 - 06:11.
Yes, Nicaragua continues to be the victim as a trans-shipment point in the pipeline between U.S. "friend" Colombia and the U.S.'s addiction to illegal drugs. But, there have been quite a few raids by Nicaraguan police that at least seems to have shut down one cartel operating here.

The end of the CIA/Oliver North run arms for cocaine program of the 1980s is another thing that helped get Nicaragua out of the loop. Of course, at that time, Nicaragua (specifically, U.S. illegal funding of the Contras) was only an excuse for U.S. government drug running. The actual "work" took place in El Salvador and Honduras.

Today, Nicaragua's physical location is the only reason it remains in the U.S. illegal drug loop. There in no "Nicaraguan illegal drug industry".

As for income imbalance, I find the following interesting. For Nicaragua: 

Household income or consumption by percentage share:	  
lowest 10%: 2.2% 
highest 10%: 33.8% (2001)

For the U.S.: 

Household income or consumption by percentage share:	  
lowest 10%: 2% 
highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.)

For another data point, here is Costa Rica: 

Household income or consumption by percentage share:	  
lowest 10%: 1% 
highest 10%: 37.4% (2003)

Finally, for a country with a serious problem, here is Haiti: 

Household income or consumption by percentage share:	  
lowest 10%: 0.7% 
highest 10%: 47.7% (2001)

All in all, the CIA World Fact Book is a great resource. It tends to be well researched and non-political in nature.

These numbers don't mean much

Submitted by ATZ on 23 June, 2008 - 06:48.

without some others.I did not look them up but may certainly validate the ones above, but maybe not.

You need to know the absolute amount of income at any level and how that relates to the minimum amount to live and other "standards" to put the countries in some perspective that means anything. Also, the lowest 10 percent may not give a oood assessment...again, until you know the absolute numbers you don't know.

If the lowest 10% income is OK to live on in one country, which has 3% in that group and in another country that is way below qny possible living standard but they have only 1% in that group, which is in better shape? What if the next couple of segments.....say the 20%, 30% and 40% ones are just a tad above the lowest 10% and still well below the minimum standard to live on? Those levels, may, in fact be more important than the 10% level.

Do these numbers in include social welfare program

Lots of ways the numbers need to be looked at to draw conclusions.

Income disparity is only a good measure for commies to make their point, not very meaningful in real life. But then again, neither are the commies.

s?

ATZ

I agree

Submitted by fyl on 23 June, 2008 - 08:56.

I merely posted them to show that while there are a lot of statistics in the CIA World Fact Book, you still have a lot of homework to do before you can draw any serious conclusions. Maybe Nicaragua is the horrible place that the original poster suggested but these numbers, while factual, don't give you enough information to draw that conclusion.

The original poster...

Submitted by will305 on 23 June, 2008 - 11:53.

is not suggesting anything. He is merely presenting some information that may be helpful to those considering a move to Nicaragua.

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." -Clarence Darrow

Agreed

Submitted by ATZ on 23 June, 2008 - 09:07.

That was the point (long winded as it was) of mine too. I guess i would rather be a subsistence farmer in a non-developed country than a person living on the street in a big city in the USATZ

And even more interesting...

Submitted by migs on 23 June, 2008 - 01:02.

search on google for "golden crescent" + cia

http://safari.oreilly.com/0132281287/ch06lev1sec2

Definitely Nic is not for

Submitted by Billy Bob on 23 June, 2008 - 21:36.

Definitely Nic is not for someone who worries excessively about other peoples´poverty. It is all around you.

But, if you mind your own business it doesn´t directly affect you because because Nicaraguans have ALWAYS been poor and don´t worry about it like Americans would. And they haven´t yet discovered in great quantities the joys of gangs, drugs, and mindless violence yet like many people in other countries, including the US.

It definely does affect you indirectly because of the poor services that exist in a country this poor, such as the hospitals and roads.