Nicaraguans

Nicaraguans (Spanish: Nicaragüenses; also called Nicas) are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world. There are also people living in Nicaragua who are not Nicaraguans because they were not born or raised in Nicaragua nor have they gained citizenship.

The genetic makeup of Nicaraguans differs from the western half of Nicaragua to the eastern half. DNA studies show that most western Nicaraguans (whites and mestizos) descend from Europeans (mostly Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese) and an Indigenous combination of Nahua, Otomanguean, and Chibcha ancestry. The combined Nahua, Otomanguean, and Chibcha ancestry of western Nicaraguans suggests that instead of a mass displacement of Chibchas by migrating Mesoamerican groups like the Nicaraos and Chorotegas, they assimilated the Chibchas who already inhabited western Nicaragua into their societies and mixed with them, blending North American and South American ancestries. This is further evident in the Chibcha minorities that lived and thrived within the Nahua chiefdoms of Kwawkapolkan, Kakawatan, and Masatepek in modern-day Rivas and Masaya. In addition, the military forces of Kwawkapolkan, Kakawatan, and Masatepek had Chibcha troops serving alongside their Nahua counterparts as military service provided social advancement and assimilation to further integrate into Nahua society. Furthermore, the Nicaraos cultivation of potatoes also suggests cultural diffusion between the Nahuas and Chibchas, as the Chibchas introduced potatoes to Nicaragua from South America which did not reach northern Mesoamerica.

Genetic studies show that eastern Nicaraguans mostly descend from shipwrecked African slaves who intermarried and mixed with the Indigenous peoples of Caribbean Nicaragua (creating the Miskito Sambu, an ethnic group of Zambos), and British colonizers who ruled the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras for roughly 225 years. The black Nicaraguans in the Caribbean coast are mostly of West Indian (Antillean) origin, the descendants of slaves brought mostly from Jamaica when the region was a British protectorate. There is also a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent. However, pure Indigenous peoples still exist in the Caribbean coast, such as the Rama, Mayangna, and the Tawira Miskito who're related to the Zambo Miskitos, both groups were rivals and often competed for territory which led to wars between the two, further dividing the two Miskito groups in the 18th century.

As of 2023, Nicaragua's total human population reached 7.0 million, with the capital (and most populous) city of Managua containing 1.5 million.

According to the UN, Nicaragua has a population of 7,243,000 (July 1, 2015) with a population growth rate of 1.31% (during the period 2005–2010) and a birth rate of 24.9 / 1,000 population (2005–2010), third highest in the region. The life expectancy for Nicaraguans at birth is (2005–2015) 74.45 years; 70.9 for males and 78.0 for females.

Data from the CIA World Factbook estimates that Nicaragua's population is around 69% Mestizos, and 17% White, with the majority being of full Spanish descent as well as Italian, German, or French ancestry. Mestizos and White make up the majority of Nicaraguans and mainly reside in the western region of the country, combined they make up 88% and of the total population.

About 5% of Nicaraguans are descending from one or more of the country's indigenous peoples. Nicaragua's pre-Columbian population consisted of many indigenous groups such as the Nahua. In the western region, the Nahua people (also known as the Pipil-Nicaraos) were present along with other groups such as Otomangueans and Chibchas. Nicaragua's central region and the Caribbean coast were inhabited by indigenous peoples who were also Chibcha-related groups that had migrated from South America, primarily what is today Colombia and Venezuela. These groups include the present-day Miskitos, Ramas and Mayangna. In the 19th century, there was a substantial indigenous minority, but this group was also largely assimilated culturally into the mestizo majority. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the department of Zelaya Department into two autonomous regions and granted the Indigenous people of this region limited self-rule.

The remainder 9% of Nicaragua's population is black, and mainly reside on the country's sparsely populated Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast. The black population is mostly of West Indian (Antillean) origin, the descendants of indentured laborers brought mostly from Jamaica when the region was a British protectorate. There is also a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent.