Agriculture provides a significant level of GDP and employment and two-thirds of the nation's exports. In 1998, the total value of agricultural exports was US$357.2 million and imports totaled $246.9 million. Agricultural workers earn an average of US$119.23 per month and are the lowest paid workers of any economic sector.
Communications | |||||||||
Country | Newspapers | Radios | TV Sets a | Cable subscribers a | Mobile Phones a | Fax Machines a | Personal Computers a | Internet Hosts b | Internet Users b |
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | |
Nicaragua | 30 | 285 | 190 | 40.2 | 4 | N/A | 7.8 | 2.21 | 20 |
United States | 215 | 2,146 | 847 | 244.3 | 256 | 78.4 | 458.6 | 1,508.77 | 74,100 |
Mexico | 97 | 325 | 261 | 15.7 | 35 | 3.0 | 47.0 | 23.02 | 1,822 |
Honduras | 55 | 386 | 90 | N/A | 5 | N/A | 7.6 | 0.19 | 20 |
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people. | |||||||||
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people. | |||||||||
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000. |
Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies 273
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused extensive damage to the nation's agricultural sector, including the destruction of crops and farm facilities and equipment. Damages from the hurricane totaled US$6 million in equipment and infrastructure. In addition, Mitch destroyed 59,000 acres of pasture and crop land and caused the deaths of 81,000 head of cattle. Because of Mitch, agricultural production in Nicaragua declined by 3.3 percent in 1998.
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