That dollar amount results from a 47.9% acceleration from $5.1 billion 5 years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, total Nicaraguan exports slowed to a 1.9% upturn compared to $7.38 billion for 2023.
Based on its average exchange rate for 2024, the Nicaraguan córdoba appreciated by 6.6% against the US dollar since 2020 and strengthened by 0.6% from 2023 to 2024. Nicaragua’s stronger local currency makes the Central American country’s exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Nicaragua’s Best Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 91.4% of products exported from Nicaragua was bought by importers in: United States of America (48.2% of the Nicaraguan total), Mexico (13.1%), Canada (7.2%), El Salvador (6.3%), Honduras (5.5%), Costa Rica (3%), Guatemala (2.2%), Belgium (1.8%), Panama (1.2%), mainland China (1.1%), United Kingdom (1%) and Switzerland (0.8%).
From a continental perspective, 68.6% of Nicaragua’s exports by value was delivered to North American countries while 20.5% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Nicaragua shipped another 7.2% worth of goods to buyers in Europe.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Asia (3.1%), Africa (0.5%) then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Nicaragua’s population of 6.93 million people, its total US$7.52 billion in 2024 exports translates to approximately $1,100 for every resident in the Central American nation. That dollar metric equals the average $1,100 per person one year earlier in 2023.
Nicaragua’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Nicaraguan global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Nicaragua.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$1.5 billion (19.9% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.4 billion (18.5%)
- Meat: $791.1 million (10.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $779.3 million (10.4%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $527.5 million (7%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $473.8 million (6.3%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $282.6 million (3.8%)
- Fish: $245.9 million (3.3%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $240.8 million (3.2%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $239.9 million (3.2%)
Nicaragua’s top 10 export categories accounted for 86% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Sugar including sugar confectionery was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 22.6% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was gems and precious metals via a 20% advance, powered by greater revenues from exported gold.
Nicaragua’s shipments of meat posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 10%.
The leading decliner among Nicaragua’s top 10 export categories was unknitted and non-crocheted clothing or accessories, recording a -26.4% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Nicaragua’s most valuable exported product generating 18% of the country’s total. In second place was knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (12.9%) trailed by insulated wire or cable (10.3%), coffee (7%), fresh or chilled beef (5.8%), cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes (also 5.8%), frozen beef (4.2%), knitted or crocheted jerseys or pullovers (3.4%), sugar (3.2%), then cheese and curd (2.8%).
Products Leading to Nicaragua’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Nicaraguan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$1.4 billion (Up by 20.1% since 2023)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $755 million (Up by 8.1%)
- Meat: $706.2 million (Up by 8.2%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $521.1 million (Down by -13.7%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $294.5 million (Down by -10.6%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $246.8 million (Up by 27.8%)
- Fish: $232 million (Down by -9.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $169.5 million (Down by -20.8%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $154.5 million (Down by -22.9%)
- Vegetables: $121.2 million (Down by -22.4%)
Historically Nicaragua generates highly positive net exports in the international trade of gold and to a lesser extent, silver and jewerly. In turn, these cashflows indicate Nicaragua’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals product category.
Products Causing Nicaragua’s Worst Trade Deficits
Nicaragua recorded an overall -US$3.95 billion trade deficit for 2024, expanding by 11.5% from the -$3.54 billion in red ink one year earlier during 2023.
Below are exports from Nicaragua that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Nicaragua’s goods trail Nicaraguan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.4 billion (Down by -5.1% since 2023)
- Vehicles: -$913.7 million (Up by 27.3%)
- Machinery including computers: -$655.1 million (Up by 7.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$538.4 million (Up by 11.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$473.8 million (Up by 3.1%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$441.3 million (Up by 28.4%)
- Cereals: -$325.1 million (Up by 14.9%)
- Iron, steel: -$308.8 million (Up by 4.5%)
- Other chemical goods: -$240.7 million (Up by 15%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: -$237.3 million (Up by 11.7%)
Nicaragua has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels including oil category, notably due to red ink recorded for both refined and crude petroleum oils as well as petroleum gases.
Nicaraguan Export Companies
Not one Nicaraguan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Nicaragua. Selected examples are shown below.
- Compañía Cervecera de Nicaragua (brewery)
- ECAMI (alternative energy)
- El Castillo del Cacao (chocolate)
- Flor de Caña (rum)
- Gelateria Italiana (ice cream)
- Joya de Nicaragua (cigars)
- Kola Shaler Industrial (soft drinks)
In macroeconomic terms, Nicaragua’s total exported goods represent 12.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($60.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 12.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 14.2% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Nicaragua’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Nicaragua’s unemployment rate averaged 3.362% for 2024, same as the average 3.362% one year earlier for 2023 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Nicaragua’s capital city is Managua, a word that can mean either “adjacent to the water” or “place of the chief”.
See also T-shirt Exports by Country, Sugar Exports by Country, Natural Honey Exports by Country and Top Milk Exporting Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on July 13, 2025
EXCHANGE-RATES.org NIO to USD: Convert Nicaraguan Cordoba Oros to US Dollars. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 13, 2025
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on July 13, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 13, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Nicaragua. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Wikipedia, Managua. Accessed on July 13, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 13, 2025