Honduras

Branches

Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $41 million, about 0.4% of GDP (1994)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49: 1,322,525 males fit for military service: 787,889 males reach military age (18) annually: 64,378 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 176, FM 0, shortwave 7

Radios

2.115 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system

inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System

Telephones

105,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

28

Televisions

400,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Agriculture

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

Budget

revenues: $527 million expenditures: $668 million, including capital expenditures of $166 million (1993 est.)

Currency

1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, employs nearly two-thirds of the labor force and produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Manufacturing, still in its early stages, employs about 9% of the labor force, and generates 20% of exports. Many basic problems face the economy, including rapid population growth, high unemployment, inflation, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. A far-reaching reform program, initiated by former President CALLEJAS in 1990 and scaled back by President REINA, is beginning to take hold.

Electricity

capacity: 290,000 kW production: 2.3 billion kWh consumption per capita: 445 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

lempiras (L) per US$1 - 10.3432 (December 1994), 10.3432 (1995), 9.4001 (1994), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300 (1992), 5.4000 (1991); the lempira was allowed to float in 1992

Exports

$843 million (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber partners: US 53%, Germany 11%, Belgium 8%, UK 5%

External debt

$3.7 billion (1994)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $10.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture: 30% industry: 20% services: 50% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita

$1,980 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

4% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption

Imports

$1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs partners: US 50%, Mexico 8%, Guatemala 6%

Industrial production growth rate

10% (1992 est.)

Industries

sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

30% (1994 est.)

Labor force

1.3 million by occupation: agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other 6% (1985)

Unemployment rate

10%; underemployed 30%-40% (1992)

Area

total area: 112,090 sq km land area: 111,890 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Climate

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Coastline

820 km

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 freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 86 30 W

International disputes

land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua

Irrigated land

900 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km

Land use

arable land: 14% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 34% other: 20%

Location

Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

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

Natural resources

timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

Terrain

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

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

Capital

Tegucigalpa

Constitution

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Data code

HO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez chancery: 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702, 2604, 5008, 4596

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994) was elected for a four-year term by a simple majority of the people; First Vice President General (Ret.) Walter LOPEZ; Second Vice President Juan DE LA CRUZ Avelar; Third Vice President Guadeloupe JEREZANO; election last held 28 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6% cabinet: Cabinet

FAX

[1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville

FAX

[504] 36-9037

Flag

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

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

International organization participation

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica), judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Assembly

Legal system

rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras

National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

elections last held on 27 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - PNH 53%, PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other 2.5%; seats - (134 total) PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Other political or pressure groups

National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH); Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP); Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH); National Union of Campesinos (UNC); General Workers Confederation (CGT); United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH); Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH); Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

Political parties and leaders

Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA Ponce, president; National Party of Honduras (PNH), Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, president; National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Type of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William T. PRYCE embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 36-9320, 38-5114

Age structure

0-14 years: 43% (male 1,220,188; female 1,177,725) 15-64 years: 54% (male 1,496,625; female 1,520,918) 65 years and over: 3% (male 91,126; female 98,611) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

33.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

5.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%

Infant mortality rate

41.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Spanish, Indian dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 68.42 years male: 66.01 years female: 70.96 years (1996 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7%

Nationality

noun: Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran

Net migration rate

-1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

5,605,193 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

2.6% (1996 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.41 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Airports

total: 111 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 79 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21 (1995 est.)

Highways

total: 14,203 km paved: 2,533 km unpaved: 11,670 km (1993 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 257 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 769,518 GRT/1,148,423 DWT ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 165, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 1, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 1, livestock carrier 3, oil tanker 19, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 16, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 2, vehicle carrier 1 note: a flag of convenience registry; Russia owns 8 ships, Vietnam 4, North Korea 2, Greece 1, Japan 1, US 1, Iran 1 (1995 est.)

Ports

La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira

Railways

total: 595 km narrow gauge: 190 km 1.067-m gauge; 128 km 1.057-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge note: in 1993, there was a total of 988 km of track (1995)

Waterways

465 km navigable by small craft