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Background:
|
 Part
of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an
independent nation in 1821. After two and one-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 against leftist guerrillas. The country was
devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about
5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. |
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Location:
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Central America,
bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua
and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean),
between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
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Map references:
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Central
America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total:
112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger
than Tennessee |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km,
Nicaragua 922 km |
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Coastline:
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820 km |
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Climate:
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subtropical in
lowlands, temperate in mountains |
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains
in interior, narrow coastal plains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
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Natural resources:
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timber, gold,
silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish,
hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land:
15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13%
other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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760 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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frequent, but
generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging
hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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has only a short
Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the
virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
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Population:
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6,823,568
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 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
41.2% (male 1,434,555; female 1,376,216)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,866,219; female 1,896,027)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 118,404; female 132,147)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 19
years
male: 18.6 years
female: 19.4 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.24% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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31.04
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.64 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-1.99 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
29.64 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 33.22 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years
female: 67.37 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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1.6% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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57,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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3,300 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
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Ethnic groups:
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mestizo (mixed
Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white
1% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic
97%, Protestant minority |
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Languages:
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Spanish,
Amerindian dialects |
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Literacy:
|
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2%
male: 76.1%
female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras |
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Government type:
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democratic
constitutional republic |
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Capital:
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Tegucigalpa |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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15 September 1821
(from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
15 September (1821) |
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Constitution:
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11 January 1982,
effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January
2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27
January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE
LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President
Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO
(since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS
Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida
Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002);
Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January
2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to
be held NA November 2005)
election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected
president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others
3.5% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 25 November 2001 (next to be held
NA November 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of
Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for
seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Christian
Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VALAZQUEZ Nazzar];
Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar David Adolfo HAM
Pena]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National
Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD
[Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose
Celin DISCUA Elvir] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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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 Federation of
Honduran Workers or FUTH |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit,
Jacksonville
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington,
DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453,
Tegucigalpa
mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022,
Tegucigalpa
telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320
FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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Economy - overview:
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Honduras, one of
the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an
extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive
unemployment, is banking on expanded trade privileges under
the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief
under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets,
it has failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy
and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on
the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on
commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the
high crime rate. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $17.46 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.5% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
13.5%
industry: 30.7%
services: 55.8% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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53% (1993 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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7.7% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.3 million (1997
est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 34%,
industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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27.5% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital
expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
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Industries:
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sugar, coffee,
textiles, clothing, wood products |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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7.7% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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3.778 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
50.2%
hydro: 49.8%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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3.822 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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308 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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29,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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bananas, coffee,
citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
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Exports:
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$1.37 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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coffee, bananas,
shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) |
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Exports - partners:
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US 69%, El
Salvador 3%, Guatemala 2% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$3.11 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical
products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
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Imports - partners:
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US 53.3%, Mexico
4.3%, El Salvador 4.2% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$5.1 billion
(2003) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$557.8 million
(1999) |
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Currency:
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lempira (HNL) |
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Currency code:
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HNL |
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Exchange rates:
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lempiras per US
dollar - 17.35 (2003), 16.43 (2002), 15.47 (2001), 14.84
(2000), 14.21 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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322,500 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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326,500 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA
international: country code - 504; satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central
American Microwave System |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 241, FM 53,
shortwave 12 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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11 (plus 17
repeaters) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.hn |
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Internet hosts:
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160 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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168,600 (2002) |
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Railways:
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total: 699
km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m
gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km
unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
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Waterways:
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465 km (navigable
by small craft) |
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Ports and harbors:
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La Ceiba, Puerto
Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 238
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
registered in other countries: 16 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, British Virgin
Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 4, Costa Rica
1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 5, El Salvador 1, Greece 16, Hong Kong 3,
Indonesia 2, Israel 1, Italy 1, Japan 2, Jordan 1, South Korea
9, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 3,
Mexico 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 10, Philippines 1, Russia 1, Saint
Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi
Arabia 1, Singapore 22, Spain 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1,
Thailand 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United
States 7, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1
by type: bulk 12, cargo 139, chemical tanker 5,
combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas 1, livestock
carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker
54, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4,
short-sea/passenger 3 |
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Airports:
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115 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 4 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 18
under 914 m: 83 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy
(including Naval Infantry), Air Force |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 1,642,029 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 977,130 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
76,143 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$99.8 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.5% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
|
in 1992, ICJ
ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed
areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, and the OAS is
assisting with a technical resolution of bolsones; in 2003,
the ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision
on one bolsone; 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 by the
ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims
Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but agreed to creation
of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the
Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum;
Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against
Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute in
the Caribbean Sea |
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Illicit drugs:
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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 11 May, 2004
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