Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 27%
other: 17% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 880 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides,
and occasionally severe hurricanes
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water
pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
People
Population: 4,717,132 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,037,269; female 1,018,909)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,236,326; female 1,297,356)
65 years and over: 2% (male 54,706; female 72,566) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.84% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 35.04 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)