Honduras

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Introduction - Honduras:
Country	Honduras


Background	Once part of Spains 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.


Location - Honduras:
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 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	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 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 sq km (2003)

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 countrys 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, 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

People - Honduras:
Population	7,483,763 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 2007 est.)

Age structure	0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084) 15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.)

Median age	total: 19.7 years male: 19.4 years female: 20.1 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate	2.091% (2007 est.)

Birth rate	27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate	5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate	-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female total population: 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate	total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth	total population: 69.35 years male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate	3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	1.8% (2003 est.)

Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	63,000 (2003 est.)

Hiv aids deaths	4,100 (2003 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 3%

Languages	Spanish, Amerindian dialects

Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census)

Government - Honduras:
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; note - these dates become effective in 2007

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 Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio Pepe LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1%

Legislative branch	unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their partys presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2

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 [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO]

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 Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH

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

Diplomatic representation in the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville

Diplomatic representation from the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114 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

Economy - Honduras:
Economy overview	Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and 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 US-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 (PRGF) program in February 2004. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, but in recent years has experienced a rapid rise in exports of light manufacturers. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment.

Gdp purchasing power parity	$22.54 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp official exchange rate	$8.478 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp real growth rate	6% (2006 est.)

Gdp per capita ppp	$3,100 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 13.6% industry: 31.4% services: 55% (2006 est.)

Labor force	2.589 million (2006 est.)

Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 34% industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate	27.9% (2006 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	55 (1999)

Inflation rate consumer prices	5.7% (2006 est.)

Investment gross fixed	23.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget	revenues: $2.002 billion expenditures: $2.028 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2006 est.)

Public debt	67.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

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

Industries	sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate	7.7% (2003 est.)

Electricity production	4.805 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity consumption	4.824 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity exports	0 kWh (2004)

Electricity imports	356 million kWh (2004)

Oil production	0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil consumption	37,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil exports	NA bbl/day

Oil imports	NA bbl/day

Oil proved reserves	0 bbl

Natural gas production	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas consumption	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Current account balance	-$160 million (2006 est.)

Exports	$1.947 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports commodities	coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber

Exports partners	US 70.3%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006)

Imports	$4.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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

Imports partners	US 51.7%, Guatemala 6.8%, El Salvador 4.4%, Mexico 4.1%, Costa Rica 4% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$2.778 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external	$5.587 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid recipient	$557.8 million (1999)

Currency code	lempira (HNL)

Exchange rates	lempiras per US dollar - 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002)

Communications - Honduras:
Fiscal year	calendar year

Telephones main lines in use	708,400 (2006)

Telephones mobile cellular	2.241 million (2006)

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

Radio broadcast stations	AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)

Television broadcast stations	11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code	.hn

Internet hosts	3,973 (2006)

Internet users	337,300 (2006)

Transportation - Honduras:
Airports	116 (2006)

Airports with paved runways	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2006)

Airports with unpaved runways	total: 105 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 84 (2006)

Railways	total: 699 km narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006)

Roadways	total: 13,603 km paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999)

Waterways	465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)

Merchant marine	total: 136 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,984 GRT/557,179 DWT by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 61, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 43 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 3, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Qatar 1, Singapore 11, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals	Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela

Military - Honduras:
Military branches	Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007)

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

Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 1,537,232 females age 18-49: 1,515,120 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 1,100,991 females age 18-49: 1,121,649 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 82,105 females age 18-49: 78,971 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures percent of gdp	0.6% (2006 est.)

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 Nicaraguas 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