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This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


Map of Honduras
Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Honduras Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.
   Geography    Honduras Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
15 00 N, 86 30 W
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
820 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21%
other: 87.26% (2005)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
800 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
Definition Field Listing
95.9 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Definition Field Listing
Total: 0.86 cu km/yr (8%/12%/80%)
Per capita: 119 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
   People    Honduras Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7,483,763
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 19.7 years
male: 19.4 years
female: 20.1 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.091% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female
total population: 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.78 years
female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.8% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
63,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,100 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80%
male: 79.8%
female: 80.2% (2001 census)
   Government    Honduras Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short form: Honduras
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
democratic constitutional republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
name: Tegucigalpa
geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these dates become effective in 2007
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009)
election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES BERMUDEZ
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702
FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco
honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa
mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114
FAX: [504] 236-9037
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
   Economy    Honduras Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies. Honduras is the fastest growing remittance destination in the region with inflows representing over a quarter of GDP, equivalent to nearly three-quarters of exports. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$24.69 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
Definition Field Listing
$9.2 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3,300 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 31%
services: 55.6% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.812 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 34%
industry: 23%
services: 43% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
27.8% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
50.7% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.2% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
53.8 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
26.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $2.089 billion
expenditures: $2.357 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2007 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
29.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.3% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.339 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.036 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
57 million kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
43,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
765.4 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
42,620 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
-$446 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3.924 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
US 70.5%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$6.798 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$680.8 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$2.892 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3.871 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
lempira (HNL)
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
lempiras per US dollar - 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Honduras Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
708,400 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.241 million (2006)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage; fixed-line teledensity has increased to about 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone service has been increasing rapidly and subscribership in 2006 exceeded 30 per 100 persons
international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.hn
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,672 (2007)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
337,300 (2006)
   Transportation    Honduras Top of Page
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
112 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 100
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 83 (2007)
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km
unpaved: 10,828 km (1999)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 126 ships (1000 GRT or over) 352,534 GRT/481,217 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 58, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 40 (Bangladesh 1, Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Singapore 10, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Definition Field Listing
La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela
   Military    Honduras Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3-year military service (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,537,232
females age 18-49: 1,515,120 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,100,991
females age 18-49: 1,121,649 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 82,105
females age 18-49: 78,971 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.6% (2006 est.)
   Transnational Issues    Honduras Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; 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
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity

This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


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