Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 8%
meadows and pastures: 29%
forest and woodland: 6%
other: 30%
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution;
contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and
sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Geographic note: smallest Central American country and only one
without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
People ———
Population: 5,828,987 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 38% (male 1,137,804; female 1,097,774)
15-64 years: 57% (male 1,627,519; female 1,716,261)
65 years and over: 5% (male 115,973; female 133,656) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.81% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 28.3 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)