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.
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
15 00 N, 86 30 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
slightly larger than Tennessee
total: 1,575 km
border countries (3): Guatemala 244 km, El Salvador 391 km, Nicaragua 940 km
823 km (Caribbean Sea 669 km, Gulf of Fonseca 163 km)
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
mean elevation: 684 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
agricultural land: 28.8%
arable land 9.1%; permanent crops 4%; permanent pasture 15.7%
forest: 45.3%
other: 25.9% (2011 est.)
900 sq km (2012)
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
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
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
has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran
8,893,259
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 2016 est.)
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has the world's highest murder rate. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Poverty rates are higher among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north and central areas where most of Honduras' industries and infrastructure are concentrated. The increased productivity needed to break Honduras' persistent high poverty rate depends, in part, on further improvements in educational attainment. Although primary-school enrollment is near 100%, educational quality is poor, the drop-out rate and grade repetition remain high, and teacher and school accountability is low.
Honduras' population growth rate has slowed since the 1990s, but it remains high at nearly 2% annually because the birth rate averages approximately three children per woman and more among rural, indigenous, and poor women. Consequently, Honduras' young adult population - ages 15 to 29 - is projected to continue growing rapidly for the next three decades and then stabilize or slowly shrink. Population growth and limited job prospects outside of agriculture will continue to drive emigration. Remittances represent about a fifth of GDP.
0-14 years: 33.55% (male 1,524,195/female 1,459,679)
15-24 years: 21.09% (male 956,315/female 918,925)
25-54 years: 36.19% (male 1,627,072/female 1,591,025)
55-64 years: 4.99% (male 207,821/female 235,776)
65 years and over: 4.19% (male 161,734/female 210,717) (2016 est.)
total dependency ratio: 57.8%
youth dependency ratio: 50.1%
elderly dependency ratio: 7.7%
potential support ratio: 13.1% (2015 est.)
total: 22.6 years
male: 22.3 years
female: 23 years (2016 est.)
1.64% (2016 est.)
22.8 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula; the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area
urban population: 54.7% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 3.14% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
TEGUCIGALPA (capital) 1.123 million; San Pedro Sula 852,000 (2015)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
total number: 280,809
percentage: 16% (2002 est.)
129 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
total: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 71.1 years
male: 69.5 years
female: 72.8 years (2016 est.)
2.72 children born/woman (2016 est.)
73.2% (2011/12)
8.7% of GDP (2014)
0.37 physicians/1,000 population (2005)
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)
improved:
urban: 97.4% of population
rural: 83.8% of population
total: 91.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.6% of population
rural: 16.2% of population
total: 8.8% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 86.7% of population
rural: 77.7% of population
total: 82.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 13.3% of population
rural: 22.3% of population
total: 17.4% of population (2015 est.)
0.37% (2015 est.)
20,000 (2015 est.)
1,000 (2015 est.)
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)
16.3% (2014)
7.1% (2012)
5.9% of GDP (2013)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.5%
male: 88.4%
female: 88.6% (2015 est.)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 12 years (2014)
20.4
note: median age a first birth among women 25-29 (2011-12 est.)
total: 8%
male: 5.5%
female: 13.8% (2011 est.)
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short form: Honduras
etymology: the name means "depths" in Spanish and refers to the deep anchorage in the northern Bay of Trujillo
presidential republic
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 2013
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
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times, last in 2012; note - in 2015, the Honduran Supreme Court struck down several constitutional articles on presidential term limits (2016)
civil law system
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 1 to 3 years
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
chief of state: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Rossana GUEVARA, and Lorena HERRERA (since 27 January 2014); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Rossana GUEVARA, and Lorena HERRERA (since 27 January 2014)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 4-year term; election last held on 24 November 2013 (next to be held in November 2017)
election results: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado elected president; percent of vote - Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 36.9%, Xiomara CASTRO (LIBRE) 28.8%, Mauricio VILLEDA (PL) 20.3%, Salvador NASRALLA (PAC) 13.4%, other 0.6%
description: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 24 November 2013 (next to be held in November 2017)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNH 33.6%, LIBRE 27.5%, PL 17.0%, PAC 15.2%, PINU 1.9%, UD 1.7%, DC 1.6%, other 1.5%; seats by party - PNH 48, LIBRE 37, PL 27, PAC 13, PINU 1, UD 1, DC 1
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges - including the court president - and 7 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, and labor chambers); note - the court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction
judge selection and term of office: court president elected by his peers; judges elected by the National Congress from candidates proposed by the Nominating Board, a diverse 7-member group of judicial officials, other government and non-government officials selected by each of their organizations; judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year terms
subordinate courts: courts of appeal; courts of first instance; peace courts
Anti-Corruption Party or PAC [Salvador NASRALLA]
Christian Democratic Party or DC [Felicito AVILA Ordonez]
Democratic Unification Party or UD [Cesar HAM]
Freedom and Refounding Party or LIBRE [Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales]
Liberal Party or PL [Mauricio VILLEDA Bermudez]
National Party of Honduras or PNH [Gladys Aurora LOPEZ]
Social Democratic Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge Rafael AGUILAR Paredes]
Beverage and Related Industries Syndicate or STIBYS
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH
Commiittee of the Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras or COFADEH
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 OR MUCA
BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge Alberto MILLA Reyes (since 21 May 2014)
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604
FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
consulate(s): Dallas, McAllen (TX0
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco
chief of mission: Ambassador James D. NEALON (since 21 August 2014)
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa
mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
telephone: [504] 2236-9320, 2238-5114
FAX: [504] 2236-9037
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
scarlet macaw, white-tailed deer; national colors: blue, white
name: "Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)
lyrics/music: 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
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 ba
Honduras’s economy depends heavily on US trade and remittances. The US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement came into force in 2006 and has helped foster foreign direct investment, but physical and political insecurity, as well as crime
The economy registered modest economic growth of 3.1%-3.6% from 2010 to 2016, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 65% of the population in poverty. In 2016, Honduras faced rising public debt but its economy has performed better than ex
$43.19 billion (2016 est.)
$41.68 billion (2015 est.)
$40.22 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$20.93 billion (2015 est.)
3.6% (2016 est.)
3.6% (2015 est.)
3.1% (2014 est.)
$5,300 (2016 est.)
$5,200 (2015 est.)
$5,100 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
20.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
18.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
14.6% of GDP (2014 est.)
household consumption: 81.3%
government consumption: 15.2%
investment in fixed capital: 23.3%
investment in inventories: 1%
exports of goods and services: 43.1%
imports of goods and services: -63.9% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 13.8%
industry: 26.6%
services: 59.6% (2016 est.)
bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster, sugar, oriental vegetables
sugar, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars
3.3% (2016 est.)
3.625 million (2016 est.)
agriculture: 39.2%
industry: 20.9%
services: 39.8% (2005 est.)
3.9% (2016 est.)
4.1% (2015 est.)
note: about one-third of the people are underemployed
60% (2010 est.)
lowest 10%: 0.4%
highest 10%: 42.4% (2009 est.)
57.7 (2007)
53.8 (2003)
revenues: $3.982 billion
expenditures: $4.384 billion (2016 est.)
19% of GDP (2016 est.)
-1.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
47.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
45.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
calendar year
2.9% (2016 est.)
3.2% (2015 est.)
6.25% (31 December 2010)
20.8% (31 December 2016 est.)
20.66% (31 December 2015 est.)
$2.51 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$2.326 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$8.486 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$8.042 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$12.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$11.84 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$NA
-$1.197 billion (2016 est.)
-$1.291 billion (2015 est.)
$8.165 billion (2016 est.)
$8.041 billion (2015 est.)
coffee, apparel, coffee, shrimp, automobile wire harnesses, cigars, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
US 36%, Germany 8.7%, El Salvador 8.5%, Guatemala 6%, Nicaragua 5.6%, Netherlands 4.1% (2015)
$11.25 billion (2016 est.)
$11.1 billion (2015 est.)
communications equipment, machinery and transport, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
US 35.2%, China 13.6%, Guatemala 9.2%, Mexico 6.6%, El Salvador 5.1% (2015)
$3.846 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$3.755 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$8.042 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$7.649 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
lempiras (HNL) per US dollar -
23.07 (2016 est.)
22.098 (2015 est.)
22.098 (2014 est.)
21.137 (2013 est.)
19.64 (2012 est.)
population without electricity: 900,000
electrification - total population: 82%
electrification - urban areas: 97%
electrification - rural areas: 66% (2013)
7.7 billion kWh (2014 est.)
5.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)
500 million kWh (2014 est.)
800 million kWh (2014 est.)
2.1 million kW (2014 est.)
60.9% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
28.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
10.4% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
53,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
13,160 bbl/day (2013 est.)
64,820 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
10 million Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 497,072
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (July 2015 est.)
total: 8.048 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 92 (July 2015 est.)
general assessment: fixed-line connections are increasing but still limited; competition among multiple providers of mobile-cellular services is contributing to a sharp increase in subscribership
domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed lines in order to expand telephone coverage contributing to a small increase in fixed-line teledensity; mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 90 per 100 persons
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 (2015)
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)
.hn
total: 1.781 million
percent of population: 20.4% (July 2015 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 5
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 10
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 251,149
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 502,372 mt-km (2015)
HR (2016)
103 (2013)
total: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2013)
total: 90
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 73 (2013)
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 164 km 1.067-m gauge; 115 km 1.057-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2014)
total: 14,742 km
paved: 3,367 km
unpaved: 11,375 km (1,543 km summer only)
note: an additional 8,951 km of non-official roads used by the coffee industry (2012)
465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2012)
total: 88
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 39, carrier 2, chemical tanker 5, container 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned: 47 (Bahrain 5, Canada 1, Chile 1, China 2, Egypt 2, Greece 4, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 2, Montenegro 1, Panama 1, Singapore 11, South Korea 6, Taiwan 1, Thailand 2, UAE 1, UK 1, US 1) (2010)
major seaport(s): La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela
Honduran Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, FFAA): Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2012)
18 years of age for voluntary 2- to 3-year military service; no conscription (2012)
1.05% of GDP (2012)
1.13% of GDP (2011)
1.05% of GDP (2010)
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
IDPs: 174,000 (violence, extortion, threats, forced recruitment by urban gangs) (2015)
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
