Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as of the department of the same name. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua, it is Nicaragua's largest city, with a projected population in 2015 of 1,048,134 within the city limits and a population of 1,337,709 in the metropolitan area, which additionally includes the municipalities of Ciudad Sandino, El Crucero, Nindirí, Ticuantepe and Tipitapa.
The city was declared the national capital in 1852. Previously, the capital alternated between the cities of Leónand Granada. The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake and years of civil war in the 1980s severely disrupted and stunted Managua's growth. It was not until the mid-1990s that Managua began to see a resurgence.
Managua's population is composed predominantly of mestizos and whites who are mainly of Spanish descent, with a minority being of French, Jewish Nicaraguan, German Nicaraguan, Italian, Russian and Turkish descent.
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Managua Map
