Population:
5,092,776 (July 1992), growth rate 2.8% (1992)
Birth rate:
37 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
54 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
65 years male, 68 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Honduran(s); adjective - Honduran
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic about 97%; small Protestant minority
Languages:
Spanish, Indian dialects
Literacy:
73% (male 76%, female 71%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
1,300,000; agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%,
other 6% (1985)
Organized labor:
40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1985)
:Honduras Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Honduras
Type:
republic
Capital:
Tegucigalpa
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)
Constitution:
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
Legal system:
rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law;
accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Executive branch:
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS Romero (since 26 January 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Party (PLH) - faction leaders, Carlos FLORES Facusse (leader of
Florista Liberal Movement), Carlos MONTOYA (Azconista subfaction), Ramon
VILLEDA Bermudez and Jorge Arturo REINA (M-Lider faction); National Party
(PNH), Jose Celin DISCUA, party president; PNH faction leaders - Oswaldo
RAMOS Soto and Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS Romero (Monarca faction); National
Innovation and Unity Party - Social Democrats (PINU-SD), Enrique AGUILAR
Cerrato Paz; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Jorge ILLESCAS; Democratic
Action (AD), Walter LOPEZ Reyes
Suffrage:
universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
National Congress:
last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results - PNH
51%, PLH 43%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU-SD 1.5%, other 2.6%; seats - (128 total) PNH
71, PLH 55, PINU-SD 2
President:
last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results -
Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS (PNH) 51%, Carlos FLORES Facusse (PLH) 43.3%, other
5.7%
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)
:Honduras Government
Member of:
BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, OAS, OPANAL,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro; Chancery at 3007 Tilden Street NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-7702; there are Honduran
Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
and San Francisco, and Consulates in Baton Rouge, Boston, Detroit, Houston,
and Jacksonville
US:
Ambassador S. Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa
(mailing address is APO AA 34022); telephone [504] 32-3120
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
:Honduras Economy
Overview:
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for more
than 25% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of
exports. Productivity remains low. Industry, still in its early stages,
employs nearly 9% of the labor force, accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates
20% of exports. The service sectors, including public administration,
account for 50% of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic
problems facing the economy include rapid population growth, high
unemployment, sharply increased 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.
Despite government efforts at reform and large-scale foreign assistance, the
economy still is unable to take advantage of its sizable natural resources.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $5.2 billion, per capita $1,050; real growth rate
- 0.3% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
26% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
15% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1989)
Budget:
revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital
expenditures of $511 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber
partners:
US 52%, Germany 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium
Imports:
$1.3 billion (c.i.f. 1991)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods,
fuel and oil, foodstuffs
partners:
US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico
External debt:
$2.8 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2.9% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
575,000 kW capacity; 1,850 million kWh produced, 374 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood
products
Agriculture:
most important sector, accounting for more than 25% of GDP, over 60% of the
labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal products include bananas,
coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp; importer of wheat
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally
for local consumption; transshipment point for cocaine
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1 billion
Currency:
lempira (plural - lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
:Honduras Economy
Exchange rates:
lempiras (L) per US$1 - 5.4 (fixed rate); 5.70 parallel black-market rate
(November 1990)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Honduras Communications