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Quick Facts
Capital	Tegucigalpa
Government	democratic constitutional republic
Currency	lempira (HNL)
Area	total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km
Population	6,560,608 (July 2002 est.)
Language	Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Religion	Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Wikitravel country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and edit the Honduras article.

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 almost $1 billion in damage.

[edit] Geography

Map of Honduras

Location 

Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Geographic coordinates 

15 00 N, 86 30 W

Map references 

Central America and the Caribbean

Area 

total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries 

total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km

Coastline 

820 km

Maritime claims 

contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 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: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13%
other: 81.72% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

760 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards 

frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

Environment - current 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

Environment - international agreements 

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note 

has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

[edit] People

Population 

6,560,608
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 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 41.8% (male 1,400,778; female 1,340,834)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,774,619; female 1,806,568)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 112,100; female 125,709) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

2.34% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

-2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

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: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 68.77 years
female: 70.51 years (2002 est.)
male: 67.11 years

Total fertility rate 

4.03 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

1.92% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 

63,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths 

4,200 (1999 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 minority

Languages 

Spanish, Amerindian dialects

Literacy 

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74%
male: 74%
female: 74.1% (1999)

[edit] Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras

Government type 

democratic constitutional republic

Capital 

Tegucigalpa

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 1995

Legal system 

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 

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch 

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%

Legislative branch 

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

Judicial branch 

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)

Political parties and leaders 

Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; 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 [Raphael CALLEJAS]

Political pressure groups and leaders 

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

International organization participation 

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US 

chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville, and St. Louis
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa
FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US 

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

Flag description 

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

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, 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 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 containment of the recent rise in crime.

GDP 

purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

2.1% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 18%
industry: 32%
services: 50% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line 

53% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 44% (1997) (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 

59 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

9.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force 

2.3 million (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate 

28% (2001 est.)

Budget 

revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.)

Industries 

sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate 

4% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production 

3.573 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 63%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

3.593 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 

5 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 

275 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

Exports 

$2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Exports - commodities 

coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber

Exports - partners 

US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium 5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000)

Imports 

$2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Imports - commodities 

machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners 

US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico 4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000)

Debt - external 

$5.6 billion (2001) (2001)

Economic aid - recipient 

$557.8 million (1999) (1999)

Currency 

lempira (HNL)

Currency code 

HNL

Exchange rates 

lempiras per US dollar - 16.0256 (January 2002), 15.9197 (2001), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997)

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

234,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

14,427 (1997)

Telephone system 

general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)

Radios 

2.45 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations 

11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions 

570,000 (1997)

Internet country code 

.hn

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

8 (2000)

Internet users 

40,000 (2000)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

total: 595 km
narrow gauge: 318 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge (2000)

Highways 

total: 15,400 km
paved: 3,126 km
unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.)

Waterways 

465 km (navigable by small craft)

Ports and harbors 

La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira

Merchant marine 

total: 284 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 749,243 GRT/846,942 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6, El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1, Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 166, chemical tanker 5, container 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1

Airports 

117 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

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 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 18
under 914 m: 83 (2002)

[edit] Military

Military branches 

Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force

Military manpower - military age 

18 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability 

males age 15-49: 1,563,174 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service 

males age 15-49: 930,718 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually 

males: 72,335 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$35 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

0.6% (FY99)

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize; El Salvador disputes tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication in 1992; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised a tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank

Illicit drugs 

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