Who does Nicaragua rely on?

1. United States$2.7 billion · 23.2%
2. China$1.7 billion · 14.3%
3. Mexico$997 million · 8.5%
4. Guatemala$995 million · 8.5%
5. Honduras$990 million · 8.4%
6. Costa Rica$707 million · 6%
7. El Salvador$578 million · 4.9%
8. India$377 million · 3.2%
9. Ecuador$268 million · 2.3%
10. Japan$231 million · 2%

Of the 543 products Nicaragua buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

and 263 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

Largest customer: United States

46.8%

Concentration (HHI)

2,460

Concentration index (HHI): 2,460 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 4 customers of the same size

104 of the 152 products Nicaragua sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what Nicaragua sells of that product; in 61, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 45.3% of what Nicaragua sells.

and 89 more

The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).

• Trade profile of Nicaragua
• Trade between Nicaragua and China
• Trade between Nicaragua and Honduras
• Trade between Nicaragua and Mexico
• Trade between Nicaragua and the United States
• Dependence of Nicaragua on the United States
• Dependence of Nicaragua on China
• All countries

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• Natural Earth · Public domain

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.