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Honduras
Physical. Honduras is located
in Central America, with the Caribbean Sea to the north and El Salvador and
Nicaragua to the south. It covers an area slightly larger than Tennessee. The
climate is subtropical in lowlands and temperate in the mountains. The terrain
in Honduras consists mostly of mountains in the interior and narrow coastal
plains. Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron
ore, antimony, coal, fish and hydropower.
People. More than 6.8 million
people live in Honduras. Spanish and Amerindian dialects are the primary
languages spoken by inhabitants. The ethnic make-up of the country includes
Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and European, 90%)
Amerindians (7%) and Africans (2%). The religious
distribution is almost entirely Roman Catholic (97%) with a Protestant minority.
Indigenous tribes have religions that often exist alongside Christianity and
incorporate elements of African and Indian animism and ancestor worship.
Government. In Honduras there
have been frequent changes of government, which, despite numerous constitutions
and authoritarian leaders, have been unable to resolve basic problems such as
widespread corruption. Presidential elections in 2005 were dominated by
the growing incidence of violent crime, much of it attributed to youth gangs.
President Manuel Zelaya is opposed to the death penalty as well as tough
anti-gang legislation. He asserts that poverty and unemployment drive youth into
gangs.
Economy. Honduras remains one
of the poorest
countries with widespread illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate health care and
housing. In 1998, just as the economy was recovering somewhat, the financial
crisis in Asia and Hurricane Mitch—which destroyed the nation’s infrastructure,
homes and thousands of lives—set Honduras back yet again. The IMF
pressured Honduras to reduce the number of state employees and privatize
state-owned enterprises. The increasing flow of the rural poor to the cities
seeking employment has also put pressure on the government as the commercial and
industrial sectors are in deep recession and cannot provide adequate jobs.
Approximately half of the population lives in poverty.
Areas of Concern. Poverty,
increasing AIDS deaths and endemic violence. The increasing numbers of
unemployed and unemployable moving from rural to urban areas. Environmental
concerns include not only deforestation, land degradation and mining pollution,
but also urbanization.
Honduras statistics
Geography
Area: 43,267 square miles
Capital: Tegucigalpa (pop 995,000)
Environmental concerns: urbanization; deforestation; land degradation and soil
erosion; mining pollution
Geographical features: mostly mountainous interior; narrow coastal plain
Climate: subtropical with temperate highlands
People
6,823,568 people;
Mestizo (90%); Indian (7%); African (2%)
Annual growth rate: 2.2%
Major language: Spanish
Religions: Roman Catholic (97%); small Protestant minority
Health and social issues
Life expectancy: Men, 65 years;
women, 67 years
Infant mortality: 29.64 deaths per 1000 live births
53% of the population lives in poverty
1 physician per 1,586 people
HIV/AIDS rate in adults: 1.8%
76.2% of adults are literate
Compulsory education: ages 7-13; free
Communication and transportation
322,500 main telephone lines
168,600 Internet users
9,563 miles of highway
369 miles of railroad
119 airfields
185,000 motor vehicles
Government
Honduras is a democratic
constitutional republic that gained its independence from Spain on September
15, 1821.
President Manuel Zelaya is both the head of state and government
4 major political parties
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at 18
Military
Military expenditures are 1.5% of
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Current disputes: boundary disputes with Nicaragua and El Salvador
Economy
Currency:
lempiras
Per capita income: $2,600
GDP: $ 17.55 billion
GDP growth rate: 2.5%
Inflation rate: 7.7%
Labor force: (34%) agricultural; (21%) industry; (45%) services
Resources and industry
Natural resources: timber; gold;
silver; copper; lead; zinc; iron ore; antimony; coal; fish; hydropower
Agriculture: bananas; coffee; citrus fruits; beef; timber; shrimp
Industry: sugar; coffee; textiles and clothing; wood products
Exports: $1.4 billion
Imports: $3.1 billion
Suggested web sites
Search ‘Honduras’ at
http://www.dmoz.org/
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