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.

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N 86 30 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 112,090 km²
Rank: 102
Land: 111,890 km²
Water: 200 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries
Total: 1520 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: 9.53%
Permanent crops: 3.21%
Other: 87.26% (2005)

Irrigated land: 800 km² (2003)

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

Population: 7,989,415
Rank: 93
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 (July 2010 est.)
Growth rate: 1.935% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 62
Below poverty line: 65% (2010)

Nationality
Noun: Honduran
Adjective: Honduran

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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 38%
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 2,290,300/female 2,280,848)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 127,187/female 156,565) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 20.7 years
Male: 20.3 years
Female: 21.1 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.935% (2010 est.)
Rank: 62

Birth rate: 25.61 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 59

Death rate: 4.99 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 187

Net migration rate: -1.27 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 165

Urbanization
Urban population: 48% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 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(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 (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 21.04 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 97
Male: 23.82 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 18.12 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.51 years
Rank: 143
Male: 68.82 years
Female: 72.28 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 59

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 65
People living with hivaids: 28,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 71
Deaths: 1900 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 60

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
Water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Education expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (1991)
Rank: 119

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 80%
Male: 79.8%
Female: 80.2% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 12 years (2008)

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: +1hr begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November

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: 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 Porfirio LOBO Sosa ; 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
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]

International organization participation: BCIE CACM FAO G-11 G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt 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
In the us chancery: Suite 4-M 3,007 Tilden Street NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 966-2,604
In the us fax: [1] (202) 966-9,751
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Chicago Houston Los Angeles Miami New Orleans New York Phoenix San Francisco
In the us honorary consulate: Jacksonville
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo LLORENS
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] 236-9,320 238-5,114
From the us fax: [504] 238-4,357

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
Note: 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 words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom centered in the white band

National anthem
Name: 'Himno Nacional de Honduras'
Lyricsmusic: Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING
Note: adopted 1915; the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history; on official occasions only the chorus and last verse are sung

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 equivalent to 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 foriegn direct investment but physical and political insecurity may deter potential investors; about 70% of FDI is from US firms. The economy registered marginally positive 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. 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 political coup.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 104
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 140

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 158
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 12.4%
Industry: 26.9%
Services: 60.8% (2010 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.)
Rank: 124

Labor force: 3.394 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 98
By occupation agriculture: 39.2%
By occupation industry: 20.9%
By occupation services: 39.8% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2009 est.)
Rank: 48
Note: about 36% are unemployed or underemployed

Population below poverty line: 65% (2010)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 0.7%
Highest 10: 42.2% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index: 56.3 (1998)
Rank: 15

Public debt: 23.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 93

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.5% (2009 est.)
Rank: 136

Central bank discount rate:

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 17.94% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 28

Stock of narrow money: $1.564 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 129

Stock of broad money: $7.064 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 110

Stock of domestic credit: $7.029 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 105

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: -$1.327 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 139

Exports: $5.09 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 105
Commodities: apparel coffee shrimp wire harnessing cigars bananas gold palm oil fruit lobster lumber
Partners: US 59.6% El Salvador 5.61% Guatemala 5.28% Mexico 4.19% Germany 4.04% (2009)

Imports: $5.924 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 94
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment industrial raw materials chemical products fuels foodstuffs
Partners: US 46.81% Guatemala 8.92% El Salvador 7.13% Mexico 5.54% Costa Rica 4.91% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.127 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 92

Debt external: $3.311 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 120

Exchange rates: lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.9 (2010) 18.895 (2009) 18.983 (2008) 18.9 (2007) 18.895 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 6.58 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 103
Consumption: 6.54 billion kWh
Consumption rank: 102
Consumption note: approximately 1.5 billion kWh in transmission and distribution losses (2009 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 11.8 million kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 100
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 144
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 172
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 161
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 168

Telephones
Main lines in use: 830,000 (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 84
Mobile cellular: 7.714 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 75

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

Broadcast media: multiple privately-owned terrestrial television 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: 16,075 (2010)
Hosts rank: 115
Users: 731,700 (2009)
Users rank: 108

Military expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)
Rank: 156

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

Airports: 104 (2010)
Rank: 56
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 92
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 74 (2010)

Railways
Total: 75 km
Rank: 128
Narrow gauge: 75 km 1.067-m gauge (2009)

Roadways
Total: 14,239 km
Rank: 123
Paved: 3,159 km
Unpaved: 11,080 km (1420 km summer only) (2009)

Waterways: 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010)
Rank: 86

Merchant marine
Total: 104
Rank: 49
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

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 (OAS) 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; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007

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