Nicaragua:
Military & Transnational Issues


Military branches	National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007)
Military service age and obligation	17 years of age for voluntary military service; tour of duty 18-36 months (2007)
Manpower available for military service	males age 17-49: 1,309,970 females age 17-49: 1,315,186 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service	males age 17-49: 1,051,425 females age 17-49: 1,129,649 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military age annually	males age 18-49: 65,170 females age 17-49: 63,133 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.6% (2006)

Disputes - international	memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing