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Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Nicaragua

Ethnicity

Most of Nicaragua's population is "mestizo," which is a combination of American Indian and European (mostly Spanish). The proportion of American Indian and European in each person varies greatly as does the actual American Indian and European ethnicities. Nicaragua also has a large percentage (compared to other Central American countries) of their population that is entirely European descent at nearly 20%. The rest of the population tends to be either wholly African or wholly American Indian.

Language

The only official language in Nicaragua is Spanish, as nearly the entire population speaks this language natively. There are some American Indians who speak indigenous languages natively, including Miskito, but nearly all of these people learn Spanish as a second language.

Spanish is a Romance language also spoken in Spain; it is closely related to other Romance languages, including Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian, others. The dialect of Spanish in Nicaragua is quite distinct in comparison to that of Spain and there are also many minor differences in the language across Latin America.

Religion

Nearly 60% of the Nicaraguans are Roman Catholic. Another quarter is protestant in various forms, the largest of these groups being Evangelicals, who tend to be primarily of European descent (as opposed to the mestizos). There are numerous smaller groups, but more interestingly, over 15% of the population claims no religion at all.

Catholicism is a Christian religion that is one of the first Christian religions (founded after the death of Jesus in about 30-33 AD). Catholicism believes that there is a single God who created everything, a savior, the son of God, Jesus Christ who is the forgiver of sins, and there is the Holy Spirit, which makes up the last part of the Holy Trinity. Catholics follow the teachings of the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments. Much of the faith is based on the life and teachings of Jesus, which is found in the gospels (in the New Testament).

Continue reading on Safari the Globe to Learn the Catholic Church's doctrines, liturgy, symbolism, traditions, & hierarchy

This page was last updated: May, 2014