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
Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 740 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
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 fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
People
Population: 5,997,327 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (male 1,262,190; female 1,217,752)
15-64 years: 55% (male 1,643,550; female 1,665,666)
65 years and over: 4% (male 98,715; female 109,454) (1999 est.)