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.

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N 86 30 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 112,090 km²
Land: 111,890 km²
Water: 200 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries
Total: 1,520 km
Border countries: (3) Guatemala 256 km; , El Salvador 342 km; , Nicaragua 922 km

Coastline: 820 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
Extremes 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: 9.55%
Permanent crops: 3.22%
Other: 87.23% (2001)

Irrigated land: 760 km² (1998 est.)

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

Population
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 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 2.16% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Honduran
Adjective: Honduran

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

Languages: Spanish Amerindian dialects

Religions: Roman Catholic 97% Protestant 3%

Age structure
0-14 years: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.)

Median age
Total: 19.15 years
Male: 18.75 years
Female: 19.56 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.16% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 30.38 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 6.87 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.95 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 est.)

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
International 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 29.32 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 32.84 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 25.63 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.3 years
Male: 67.71 years
Female: 70.97 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.8% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 63,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 76.2%
Male: 76.1%
Female: 76.3% (2003 est.)

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: 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 27 November 2005)
Election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 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 [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; 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]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
In the us chancery: Suite 4-M, 3,007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 966-7,702
In the us fax: [1] (202) 966-9,751
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco
In the us honorary consulates: Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
From the us embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3,453, Tegucigalpa
From the us mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34,022, Tegucigalpa
From the us telephone: [504] 238-5,114, 236-9,320
From the us fax: [504] 236-9,037

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

Economy overview: 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 under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US its largest trading partner on commodity prices particularly coffee and on reduction of the high crime rate.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $18.79 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4.2% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 12.7%
Industry: 32.1%
Services: 55.3% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products: bananas coffee citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

Industries: sugar coffee textiles clothing wood products

Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 2.47 million (2004 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 34%
By occupation industry: 21%
By occupation services: 45% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 28.5% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 0.6%
Highest 10: 42.7% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index: 56.3 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $1.467 billion
Expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.)

Public debt: 74.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 7% (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $258.3 million (2003 est.)

Exports: $1.457 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: coffee shrimp bananas gold palm oil fruit lobster lumber
Partners: US 54.4% El Salvador 8.1% Germany 5.9% Guatemala 5.4% (2004)

Imports: $3.332 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment industrial raw materials chemical products fuels foodstuffs (2000)
Partners: US 37.5% Guatemala 6.9% Mexico 5.4% Costa Rica 4.3% El Salvador 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.464 billion (2004 est.)

Debt external: $5.365 billion (September 2004 est.)

Exchange rates: lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004) 17.345 (2003) 16.433 (2002) 15.474 (2001) 14.839 (2000)

Electricity
Production: 3.626 billion kWh (2002)
Consumption: 3.771 billion kWh (2002)
Exports: 16 million kWh (2002)
Imports: 415 million kWh (2002)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 322,500 (2002)
Mobile cellular: 326,500 (2002)

Telephone system
General assessment: inadequate system
Domestic: NA
International: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System

Internet
Country code: .hn
Hosts: 1944 (2003)
Users: 168,600 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $100.6 million (2004)
Percent of gdp: 1.4% (2004)

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

Airports: 115 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 104
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 18
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.)

Railways
Total: 699 km
Narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004)

Waterways: 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004)

Merchant marine
Total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1)
Registered in other countries: 1 (2005)

Disputes international: in 1992 ICJ ruled on the delimitation of 'bolsones' (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border but despite OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003 full demarcation of the border remains stalled; 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 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 which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea

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