Chinandega is a department in Nicaragua on the border with Honduras. The capital is Corinto. In 2004 Nicaraguan census reported in the department of Chinandega a population of 452,190.

Largely agricultural, it produces rum from sugar cane; other products are bananas, peanuts, shrimps and salt.

Municipalities

1. Chichigalpa
2. Chinandega
3. Cinco Pinos
4. Corinto
5. El Realejo
6. El Viejo
7. Posoltega
8. Puerto Morazán
9. San Francisco del Norte
10. San Pedro del Norte
11. Santo Tomás del Norte
12. Somotillo
13. Villa Nueva