Natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water
pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes;
Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography—note: smallest Central American country and only one
without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 5,839,079 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (male 1,091,500; female 1,044,658)
15-64 years: 58% (male 1,612,847; female 1,786,318)
65 years and over: 5% (male 138,052; female 165,704) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.53% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 26.19 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)