Honduras Population: 8,143,564
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| Background | |
| 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. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded. |
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| Geography | |
| Has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | |
| Location: | 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: | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
| Area: | total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km Size comparison: slightly larger than Tennessee |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
| Coastline: | Caribbean Sea 669 km; Gulf of Fonseca 163 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
| Climate: | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
| Terrain: | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
| Natural resources: | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
| Land use: | arable land: 9.53% permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 800 sq km (2008) |
| Natural hazards: | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
| Current Environment Issues: | 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 |
| International Environment Agreements: | 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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| People | |
| Population: | 8,143,564 (July 2011 est.) 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 36.7% (male 1,528,271/female 1,464,428) 15-64 years: 59.5% (male 2,431,607/female 2,412,951) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 136,035/female 170,272) (2011 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 21 years male: 20.6 years female: 21.4 years (2011 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.888% (2011 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 25.14 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Death rate: | 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 20.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 70.61 years male: 68.93 years female: 72.37 years (2011 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 3.09 children born/woman (2011 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.8% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 39,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 2,500 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
| Ethnic groups: | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
| Languages: | Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
| Government type: | democratic constitutional republic |
| Capital: | 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: none scheduled for 2011 |
| Administrative divisions: | 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: | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
| Constitution: | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times |
| Legal system: | civil law system |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Porfirio LOBO Sosa (since 27 January 2010); Vice President Maria Antonieta Guillen de BOGRAN (since 27 January 2010); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Porfirio LOBO Sosa (since 27 January 2010); Vice President Maria Antonieta Guillen de BOGRAN (since 27 January 2010) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held on 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013) election results: Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa elected president; percent of vote - Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 56.3%, Elvin SANTOS Lozano 38.1%, other 5.6% |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members elected proportionally by department to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PNH 71, PL 45, PDC 5, PUD 4, PINU 3 |
| Judicial branch: | 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: | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA Ordonez]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Party or PN [Antonio ALVAREZ Arias]; Social Democratic Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge Rafael AGUILAR Paredes] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Beverage and Related Industries Syndicate or STIBYS; 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; United Farm Workers' Movement of the Aguan (MUCA) |
| International organization participation: | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (suspended), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG (suspended), SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Jacksonville |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo LLORENS 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] 238-4357 |
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| Economy | |
| Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, as well as high underemployment. While historically dependent on the export of bananas and coffee, Honduras has diversified its export base to include apparel and automobile wire harnessing. Nearly half of Honduras's economic activity is directly tied to the US, with exports to the US accounting for 30% of GDP and remittances for another 20%. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) came into force in 2006 and has helped foster foreign direct investment, but physical and political insecurity, as well as crime and perceptions of corruption, may deter potential investors; about 70% of FDI is from US firms. The economy registered sluggish economic growth in 2010, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 60% of the population in poverty. The LOBO administration inherited a difficult fiscal position with off-budget debts accrued in previous administrations and government salaries nearly equivalent to tax collections. His government has displayed a commitment to improving tax collection and cutting expenditures, and attracting foreign investment. This enabled Tegucigalpa to secure an IMF Precautionary Stand-By agreement in October 2010. The IMF agreement has helped renew multilateral and bilateral donor confidence in Honduras following the ZELAYA administration's economic mismanagement and the 2009 coup. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $33.63 billion (2010 est.) $32.72 billion (2009 est.) $33.44 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $15.35 billion (2010 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 2.8% (2010 est.) -2.1% (2009 est.) 4.1% (2008 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $4,200 (2010 est.) $4,200 (2009 est.) $4,400 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 12.5% industry: 26.5% services: 60.9% (2010 est.) |
| Labor force: | 3.394 million (2010 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 39.2% industry: 20.9% services: 39.8% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 5.1% (2010 est.) 3.2% (2009 est.) note: about one-third of the people are underemployed |
| Population below poverty line: | 65% (2010) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 0.6% highest 10%: 43.8% (2007) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 57.7 (2007) 53.8 (2003) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.7% (2010 est.) 5.5% (2009 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 23.4% of GDP (2010 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $2.672 billion expenditures: $3.412 billion (2010 est.) |
| Public debt: | 29.1% of GDP (2010 est.) 25.9% of GDP (2009 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster |
| Industries: | sugar, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 2.4% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 6.58 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 6.54 billion kWh note: approximately 1.5 billion kWh in transmission and distribution losses (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2009 est.) |
| Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 51,000 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 5,114 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - imports: | 53,630 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$1.002 billion (2010 est.) -$1.327 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports: | $5.742 billion (2010 est.) $4.825 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | apparel, coffee, shrimp, wire harnesses, cigars, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
| Exports - partners: | US 65%, El Salvador 4.4%, Germany 4% (2010) |
| Imports: | $8.55 billion (2010 est.) $7.299 billion (2009 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners: | US 50.7%, Guatemala 8.2%, Mexico 5.3%, El Salvador 4.8% (2010) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $2.702 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $2.111 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $3.748 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $3.675 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA |
| Exchange rates: | lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.9 (2010) 18.9 (2009) 18.983 (2008) 18.9 (2007) 18.895 (2006) |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 830,000 (2009) country comparison to the world: 85 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 7.714 million (2009) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: the number of fixed-line connections are increasing but still limited; competition among multiple providers of mobile-cellular services is contributing to a sharp increase in the number of subscribers domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage contributing to an increase in fixed-line teledensity to roughly 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership reached 100 per 100 persons in 2009 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: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .hn |
| Internet hosts: | 16,075 (2010) |
| Internet users: | 731,700 (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 104 (2010) country comparison to the world: 57 |
| Airports (paved runways): | 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 (2010) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 92 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 74 (2010) |
| Railways: | total: 75 km narrow gauge: 75 km 1.067-m gauge (2009) |
| Roadways: | total: 14,239 km paved: 3,159 km unpaved: 11,080 km (1,420 km summer only) (2009) |
| Waterways: | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 104 by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 50, carrier 2, chemical tanker 7, container 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 49 (Bahrain 5, Canada 1, China 2, Egypt 2, Greece 4, Hong Kong 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Montenegro 2, Panama 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, UK 1, Vietnam 1) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2008) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3 year military service (2004) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 2,045,914 females age 16-49: 1,991,418 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 1,525,578 females age 16-49: 1,539,688 (2010 est.) |
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