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Nicaragua

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

7

Budget Oversight

59

Transparency

42

Open Budget Survey 2021

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of the OBS covers 120 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 319.01 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 861.75 KB
42 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Nicaragua compared to others

Global Average
45
Mexico
82
Dominican Republic
77
Guatemala
64
Costa Rica
63
Honduras
61
Jamaica
50
Nicaragua
42
El Salvador
41
Trinidad and Tobago
34
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Nicaragua’s ranking: 73 of 120 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Nicaragua changed over time?

37
2010
42
2012
46
2015
43
2017
41
2019
42
2021
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Nicaragua

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Nicaragua makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2021 Internal Use
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2021 54
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2021 22
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2021 Not Produced
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2020 70
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2020 Not Produced
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2019 50
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2018 29

Nicaragua’s transparency score of 42 in the OBS 2021 is near its score in 2019.

Recommendations

Nicaragua should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Pre-Budget Statement online in a timely manner.
Produce and publish the Citizens Budget and Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner.
Include in the Executive's Budget Proposal data on the financial position of the government and information on performance and policy.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the Enacted Budget by including expenditure estimates (by classification and individual programs) and revenue estimates (by category and individual sources).
Include in the Year-End Report comparisons between planned nonfinancial outcomes and actual outcomes and comparisons between the original macroeconomic forecast and actual outcomes.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the Audit Report by including, among others, an executive summary of the document and an audit of extrabudgetary funds. In addition, a report that tracks actions taken by the executive to address audit recommendations should be released to the public.
7 /100

The OBS assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Nicaragua has a public participation score of 7 (out of 100).

Public participation in Nicaragua compared to others

Global Average
14
Dominican Republic
22
Mexico
22
El Salvador
20
Guatemala
19
Jamaica
18
Honduras
17
Costa Rica
9
Nicaragua
7
Trinidad and Tobago
7
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here  for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

0
/100
Formulation
(executive)
11
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
33
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

To further strengthen public participation in the budget process, Nicaragua's Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público should prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to engage the public during budget formulation and to monitor budget implementation.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, either directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional has established public hearings related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

Nicaragua's Contraloría General de la República has established mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program. It should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
59 /100

The OBS examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Nicaragua, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 59 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
64
100
adequate

Audit oversight

0
50
100
limited
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional provides adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and adequate oversight during the implementation stage. To further improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The Asamblea Nacional should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by Nicaragua's Contraloría General de la República, the following actions are recommended:

Ensure the Contraloría General de la República has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Nicaragua does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2020 were assessed in the OBS 2021.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Leonardo Labarca
    Expediente Abierto

    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert.
Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary ES
PDF, es
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary ES
PDF, es
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary ES
PDF, ES