Background: Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World,
Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-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 against leftist guerrillas.
Government
type: democratic constitutional republic
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Currency: 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
Geography of Honduras
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and
Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Area:
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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: 15%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 740 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes
and floods along 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 country's largest
source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy
metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage.
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, 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.
More Geography
People of Honduras
About 90% of the population is mestizo. There also are small minorities
of European, African, Asian, Arab, and indigenous Indian descent. Most
Hondurans are Roman Catholic, but Protestant churches are growing in number.
Spanish is the predominant language, although some English is spoken along
the northern coast and is prevalent on the Caribbean Bay Islands. Several
indigenous Indian languages and Garifuna (a black Caribe/African language)
also are spoken. The restored Mayan ruins near the Guatemalan border in
Copan reflect the great Mayan culture that flourished there for hundreds of
years until the early 9th century.
Population: 6,975,204 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.22%
15-64 years: 54.21%
65 years and over: 3.57%
Population growth rate: 2.16%
Birth rate: 31.94 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.51 years
female: 71.28 years
Total fertility rate: 4.15 children born/woman
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 minority
Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 72.7%
male: 72.6%
female: 72.7% (1995 est.)
SOURCES: The World Factbook, U.S. Department of State |