Travel Risk Atlas

Nicaragua

Central America · Capital Managua

Each opens that government's own advisory for Nicaragua — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

42.7 Moderate risk
Atlas Risk Score · 144th safest of 220
white concrete building with flags on top during daytime
Photo: Azzedine Rouichi / Unsplash

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Nicaragua as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Atlántico Norte — Travel with cautionAtlántico Norte — Travel with cautionAtlántico Sur — Travel with cautionAtlántico Sur — Travel with cautionAtlántico Sur — Travel with cautionBoaco — Travel with cautionCarazo — Travel with cautionChinandega — Travel with cautionChontales — Travel with cautionEstelí — Travel with cautionGranada — Travel with cautionJinotega — Travel with cautionLeón — Travel with cautionMadriz — Travel with cautionManagua — Travel with cautionMasaya — Travel with cautionMatagalpa — Travel with cautionNueva Segovia — Travel with cautionRio San Juan — Travel with cautionRivas — Travel with cautionLago de NicaraguaLago de Managua
What governments advise Travel with caution

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole countryTravel with caution. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Crime
15% of score
58/100
189th of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly earthquakes, tsunami, flooding, cyclones
58/100
190th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
52/100
170th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
47/100
148th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
42/100
137th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
33/100
127th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
27/100
144th of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
59/100

Biggest factor here: crime. Violent crime levels and how reliably the law is enforced.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
118
Police 118 · Ambulance 128
Currency
NIO C$
Languages
Spanish
Visa (EU passport)
90 days visa-free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
7.0m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Managua
Driving
On the right
16.9 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type A, B
110-127V
Dialling code
+505
GDP per capita
$3k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
1.5m
International arrivals, 2019
Malaria risk
8.6/10
INFORM exposure score — see a travel clinic

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Managua, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around November to January.

Daytime high hot extreme heat
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Nicaragua:

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.