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
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains 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
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 30%
forest and woodland: 34%
other: 20%
Irrigated land: 900 sq km (1989 est.)
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
People ———
Population: 5,605,193 (July 1996 est.)
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.)