Country Profile Honduras

 

  • Capital: Tegucigalpa
  • Population: 7,792,854 (July 2009 est.)
  • Currency: Lempira (HNL)                                               
  • Language: Spanish and Amerindian dialects
  • Time zone:  UTC-6
  • Government: Democratic constitutional republic
  • Chief of State: Porfirio Lobo 

  • GDP real growth rate 2008:

    • 4% (2008 est.)
    • 6.3% (2007 est.) 
    • 6.3% (2006 est.)
  • Exports:  $6.236 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  •  Main Export Partners(2007): 

    • US 67.2%
    • El Salvador 4.9%
    • Guatemala 3.9%
     Imports: $10.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  • Main Import partners:

    • US 52.4%
    • Guatemala 7.1%
    • El Salvador 5.2%
    • Mexico 4.5%
    • Costa Rica 4.2% (2007)
  • Country Dialing Code: +504
  • National Airline: Tan-Sahsa
  • Voltage: 110V
  • Emergency police number: *199                     

 

Detailed country profile

ECONOMY

GDP real growth rate:

  • 4% (2008 est.) 
  • 6.3% (2007 est.) 
  • 6.3% (2006 est.)

GDP-Composition by sector(2008 est):

  • Agriculture: 13.4%
  • Industry: 28.2%
  • Services: 58.5%

Labor force by occupation(2005 est):

  • Agriculture: 39.2%
  • Industry: 20.9%
  • Services: 39.8%

Agriculture products:

  • Bananas
  • Coffee
  • Citrus
  • Beef
  • Timber
  • Shrimp
  • Tilapia
  • Lobster
  • Corn
  • African palm

Industries:

  • Sugar
  • Coffee
  • Textiles
  • Clothing
  • Wood products

Exports:$6.236 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Export Commodities

  • Coffee
  • Shrimp
  • Bananas
  • Gold
  • Palm oil
  • Fruit
  • Lobster
  • Lumber

Main Export Partners(2007):

  • US 67.2%
  • El Salvador 4.9%
  • Guatemala 3.9%

Imports: $10.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Import commodities:

  • Machinery and transport equipment
  • Industrial raw materials
  • Chemical products
  • Fuels
  • Foodstuffs

Import partners(2007):

Ports and Terminal:

  • La Ceiba
  • Puerto Cortes
  • San Lorenzo
  • Tela

Unemployment rate: 27.8% (2007 est.)

GOVERNMENT

Government Type: Democratic constitutional republic

Executive Branch:

chief of state: Porfirio Lobo
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president

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

GEOGRAPHY

Land Boundaries:total: 1,520 km

Border countries:

  • Guatemala 256 km
  • El Salvador 342 km
  • Nicaragua 922 km

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

Environment and international agreement:

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

Environment and 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

PEOPLE

Ethnic groups:

  • Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%
  • Amerindian 7%
  • Black 2%
  • White 1%

Languages:

  • Spanish
  • Amerindian dialects

Religion:

  • Roman Catholic 97%
  • Protestant 3%

HISTORY

Express History

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.

On June 29th 2009, President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup and and sent into exile in Costa Rica. Tensions escalated after he tried to hold a referendum to change the constitution allowing to run for another presidential term.



Source: The world factbook www.cia.gov

 

See also:

Honduras Trade Agreement

Embassies and Consulates in Honduras