_#_Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

_#_Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

_#_Land use: arable land 14%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 30%; forest and woodland 34%; other 20%; includes irrigated 1%

_#_Environment: subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion

_*People #_Population: 4,949,275 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)