Map of Honduras | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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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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

Map reference

Area
Rank: 103
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries

Coastline: Caribbean Sea 669 km; Gulf of Fonseca 163 km

Maritime claims

Climate: subtropical in lowlands temperate in mountains

Terrain: mostly mountains in interior narrow coastal plains

Elevation

Natural resources: timber gold silver copper lead zinc iron ore antimony coal fish hydropower

Land use

Irrigated land: 800 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 95.9 km³ (2000)

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

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


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Population: 8,296,693 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 93
Growth rate: 1.838% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 67
Below poverty line: 60% (2010 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90% Amerindian 7% black 2% white 1%

Languages: Spanish (official) Amerindian dialects

Religions: Roman Catholic 97% Protestant 3%

Demographic profile:

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.838% (2012 est.)
Rank: 67

Birth rate: 24.66 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 62

Death rate: 5.05 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 181

Net migration rate: -1.22 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 156

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 96

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 146

Total fertility rate: 3.01 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 63

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.57 physicians/1000 population (2000)

Hospital bed density: 0.8 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 57
People living with hivaids: 39,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 62
Deaths: 2,500 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 51

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 8.6% (2006)
Rank: 70

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: democratic constitutional republic

Capital

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

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch

Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members elected proportionally by department to serve four-year terms)

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: Anti-Corruption Party or PAC [Salvador NASRALLA]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA Ordonez]; Broad Political Electoral Front in Resistance or FAPER [Andres PAVON]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Freedom and Refounding Party or LIBRE [Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales]; Liberal Party or PL [Bill SANTOS Brito]; National Party or PN [Ricardo ALVAREZ]; Social Democratic Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge Rafael AGUILAR Paredes]

International organization participation: BCIE CACM CD CELAC FAO G-11 G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC (suspended) IOM IPU ISO (subscriber) ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAES LAIA (observer) MIGA MINURSO NAM OAS (suspended) OPANAL OPCW PCA Petrocaribe SICA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCO (suspended) WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation

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; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water and the peace and prosperity of its people

National symbols: scarlet macaw; white-tailed deer

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: 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 65% 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 106

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 91

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 161

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: bananas coffee citrus corn African palm; beef; timber; shrimp tilapia lobster

Industries

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (2010 est.)
Rank: 116

Labor force: 3.44 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 98

Unemployment rate: 4.9% (2011 est.)
Rank: 45

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 60% (2010 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index: 53.8 (2003)
Rank: 9

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 126

Taxes and other revenues: 18.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 171

Public debt: 32.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 103

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 141

Central bank discount rate:

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 18.56% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 23

Stock of narrow money: $2.182 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 121

Stock of broad money: $8.127 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 111

Stock of domestic credit: $8.383 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 100

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: -$1.503 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 132

Exports: $7.204 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 103
Commodities: apparel coffee shrimp automobile wire harnesses cigars bananas gold palm oil fruit lobster lumber
Partners: US 33.1% Germany 10.9% El Salvador 7.3% Belgium 6.5% Guatemala 6.2% (2011)

Imports: $10.34 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 92
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment industrial raw materials chemical products fuels foodstuffs
Partners: US 46% Guatemala 8.8% Mexico 5.7% El Salvador 5.4% China 4.1% Costa Rica 4% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.785 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 107

Debt external: $4.564 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 118

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 6.326 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 111
Consumption: 4.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 115
Exports: 46 million kWh (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 79
Imports: 100,000 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 108
Installed generating capacity: 1.697 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 108
Generation sources fossil fuels: 63.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 133
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 106
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 30.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 77
Generation sources other renewable sources: 5.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 32

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 147
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 126
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 199
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 146

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 159
Products consumption: 58,150 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 97
Products exports: 8,419 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 90
Products imports: 54,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 67

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 144
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 156
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 86
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 208
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 150

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 8.288 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 106

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 609,200 (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 91
Mobile cellular: 8.062 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 88

Telephone system

Broadcast media: multiple privately-owned terrestrial TV networks supplemented by multiple cable TV networks; Radio Honduras is the lone government-owned radio network; roughly 300 privately-owned radio stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .hn
Hosts: 30,955 (2012)
Hosts rank: 107
Users: 731,700 (2009)
Users rank: 108

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)
Rank: 157

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3 year military service (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 104 (2012)
Rank: 53

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Rank: 128

Roadways
Rank: 123

Waterways: 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2012)
Rank: 85

Merchant marine
Rank: 55

Ports and terminals: La Ceiba Puerto Cortes San Lorenzo Tela


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Disputes international: 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 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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