Managua () is the capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1,063,815 as of 2023, and a population of 1,401,687 in its metropolitan area. The city also serves as the seat of Managua Department.
Founded in 1819, Managua became the national capital in 1852. It was a small fishing village before then. The city underwent a rapid expansion and urbanization between 1842 and 1930, leading it to become one of the most developed cities in Central America. Several earthquakes have affected the city's growth, especially the 1931 earthquake and the 1972 earthquake, but the city has been rebuilt several times. Today, the city is a major economic hub for both the country and Central America.
Etymology Two possible origins for the name "Managua" have been found and proposed. It may have originated from the term Mana-ahuac, which in the Nahuatl language translates to "adjacent to the water" (referring to Lake Managua). Alternatively, it may have come from the Mangue language, where the word "managua" was said to mean "place of the big man" or "chief".
Residents of the city are called managuas, managüenses, or capitalinos.
History
Origins
Managua (and the entire area of Nicaragua) was inhabited by Paleo-Indians as far back as 12,000 BC. The ancient footprints of Acahualinca are 2,100-year-old fossilsSchmincke, H.-U., S. Kutterolf, W. Perez, J. Rausch J, A. Freundt, and W. Strauch, 2008, Walking through volcanic mud: the 2,100-year-old Acahualinca footprints (Nicaragua). I Stratigraphy, lithology, volcanology and age of the Acahualinca section. Bulletin of Volcanology. v. 51, no. 5, p. 479-493. discovered along the shores of Lake Managua. Other archeological evidence, mainly in the form of ceramics and statues made of volcanic stone, like the ones found on the island of Zapatera, and petroglyphs found on Ometepe island, contribute to the increasing knowledge of Nicaragua's ancient history.
The Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés visited the indigenous town of Managua in 1529, though it was located at a slightly different site than the modern city. According to Oviedo, Managua had a population of 40,000 people at the time, and was able to mobilize 10,000 archers. He also noted that it didn't have just one central plaza, but rather several successive plazas spread along the lakeside with intervals between each.
Early history Founded as a pre-Columbian fishing town, the city was incorporated in 1819 and given the name Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Nicaragua became an independent nation in 1838. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical compromise site. Hence, Managua was officially selected as the nation's capital in 1852.
Between 1852 and 1930, Managua underwent extensive urbanization, becoming a base of governance, infrastructure and services. The city was hampered by major floods in 1876 and 1885. Managua had become Central America's most developed city. Today's references differentiate the pre-1970s Managua by labeling it as La Antigua Ciudad, which in English translates to "The Ancient City".
20th century
A disastrous earthquake in 1931"Managua trade area is swept by flames", The New York Times. April 20, 1936. Page 7. destroyed much of the city, killing between 1,000 and 2,450 people. A large fire in 1936 also destroyed much of the city. Under the rule of Anastasio Somoza García and his family (1936–1979), the city was rebuilt and began to grow rapidly. New government buildings were erected, industry developed, and universities were established. The city's development caught the attention of Irving Fields and Albert Gamse, who composed a musical piece about the city that became popular in the 1940s through the performances of Freddy Martin, Guy Lombardo and Kay Kyser.
Managua's progress came to a sudden halt after it suffered a second major earthquake on December 23, 1972, which destroyed 90% of the city's downtown and killed more than 19,120 people. Infrastructure was severely damaged and the restoration of buildings was nearly impossible and Managua's limited resources had to be directed to disaster relief purposes. Surviving fire squadrons and ambulance companies were not able to handle the increasing demand for their services. Some buildings burned to the ground, while the foundations of others simply gave way. Not able to rebuild quickly, the city directed emergency workers to clear away much of the city's ruins quickly while burying the deceased in mass graves. Residences, government buildings and entire avenues were demolished. Escaping the city center, earthquake victims found refuge in the outskirts of the city. In addition, corruption within the Somoza regime which allocated part of the relief funds hindered the reconstruction of the city's center which remains somewhat isolated from the rest of the capital.
The Nicaraguan Revolution of 1979 to overthrow the Somoza regime and the 11-year-long Contra War of the 1980s further devastated the city and its economy. To make matters worse, a series of natural disasters, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998, made economic recovery more difficult. After winning the presidential election in 1990, the National Opposition Union began the reconstruction of Managua in earnest. More than 300,000 Nicaraguans returned from abroad bringing their expertise and needed capital. Businesses mushroomed, new housing projects and schools were constructed, the airport was expanded and modernized, streets were widened, older malls were repaired and new ones were built, and buildings were cleaned up.
21st century
In 2006, after the Sandinista National Liberation Front came back into power, literacy, health and reconstruction programs were expanded.
New governmental buildings, galleries, museums, apartment buildings, squares, promenades, monuments, boat tours on Lake Managua, restaurants, nighttime entertainment, and broad avenues have resurrected part of downtown Managua's former vitality. Commercial activity, however, remains low. Residential and commercial buildings have been constructed on the outskirts of the city, in the same locales that were once used as refugee camps for those who were homeless after the earthquake. These booming locales have been of concern to the government because of their close proximity to Lake Managua.
The construction of a new sewer system and the redirecting of waste water to a new water treatment plant at Las Mercedes in Eastern Managua in May 2009 relieved previous concerns over water pollution and native wildlife, and brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland.ENACAL - Más Aguas y Saneamientos 2007-2010
In 2015, Dorotea Wilson organized the first Summit of Afro-descendant Women Leaders of the Americas, which took place in the city from 26–28 June.
Geography
Managua is located on the southern shores of Lake Managua, also known as Lake Xolotlán. Lake Managua contains the same fish species as larger Lake Cocibolca in southeastern Nicaragua, except for the freshwater sharks found exclusively in the latter. Once a Managuan scenic highlight, the lake has been polluted from the dumping of chemical and waste water since 1927. A new sewer system and the redirecting of waste water to a new waste water treatment plant at Las Mercedes funded by the German government to decontaminate the lake was expected to be the largest in Central America and was inaugurated in 2009.Nicaragua inaugurates $86 million treatment plan to clean up Lake Managua
These works of progress have relieved old concerns over water pollution and the endangering of native wildlife have brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland.
Managua's city area extends about , essentially south from the south shore of Lake Managua. The lakeshore is at an altitude of above sea level, and the city climbs as it gets towards the Sierras de Managua further south where it is over above sea level.
Geologically, the city lies on fault lines, thus seismologists predict that Managua will experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less.
Managua features four smaller crater lakes or lagoons within city limits. The most centrally located is the Tiscapa Lagoon in the Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve.
Flora
Managua, due to its tropical climate, varied topography, rich fertile soils, and abundant rain and water sources, boasts a great variety of flora. Many different types of trees, some of which are not found elsewhere in the world, appear, including chilamates, ceibos, pochotes, genízaros, tigüilotes, royal palms, piñuelas and madroños (Nicaragua's national tree) surround the city. During the rainy season (May to November), Managua becomes a lush city due to many palms, bushes, and other plants and trees which dominate the city's appearance.
Climate Managua, like much of Western Nicaragua, except for the Sierras, has a tropical climate with constant temperatures averaging between . Under Köppen's climate classification, the city has a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw). The city spends most of the year seeing strong heat and a bright shining sun. The temperature varies from at night to during the daytime. Temperatures are highest in March, April and May when the sun lies directly overhead and the summer rainfall has yet to begin. As stated before Managua only has two seasons, the dry and the rainy. The rainy season occurs between mid-May and mid-November, while the dry-season occurs between mid-November and the middle or end of May. During the dry season the countryside gets dull and even dusty.
| source = World Meteorological Organization (1991–2020 Normals) name="WMONormalsManagua">& Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER) / Copernicus ERA5 Data (Extremes)name="ClimMemManagua">
Education
Most of the nation's prestigious universities and higher education institutions are based in Managua. In 2007, after a successful literacy campaign, Managua was declared by the Mayor of Managua and the Sandinista party newspaper to be the first capital city in Central America to be rid of illiteracy. Nicaragua's higher education system consists of 48 universities and 113 colleges, vocational and technical institutes which serve students in the areas of electronics, computer systems and sciences, agroforestry, construction and trade-related services. The educational system includes 1 United States accredited English language university, 3 bilingual university programs, 5 bilingual secondary schools and dozens of English Language Institutes.
In 2005, almost 400,000 (7%) of Nicaraguans held a university degree. In 2014, the Neil Armstrong Observatory was completed in Managua. About 18 percent of Nicaragua's total budget is invested in primary, secondary and higher education. University level institutions account for 6% of the 18 percent.
Higher education
The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua) is the main state-funded public university of Nicaragua. UNAN was established in 1812 in the city of León and its main campus is located in Managua. By government decree in 1983 the campus of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in León and Managua, became two separate entities; UNAN and UNAN-León.
The Polytechnic University of Nicaragua (UPOLI) (Spanish: Universidad Politécnica de Nicaragua) is a university located in Managua, Nicaragua. It was founded in 1967.