Figure 11. Transportation System, 1993

Oil refinery near Managua
Courtesy Nicaraguan Tourism Institute

Most of Nicaragua's physical infrastructure was not developed until the 1950s. The Somoza dynasty built roads, railroads, and telecommunications in order to support the growing needs of exporters and of the related urban agro-industries in the Pacific lowlands. Although the Sandinista government improved the road system, much of the central highlands and Caribbean lowlands still remained inaccessible in the early 1990s.

Data as of December 1993