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Communications

Airports [time series]

180 total, 140 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

9 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved, 2,250 km unimproved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

465 km navigable by small craft

Merchant marine [time series]

149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 438,495 GRT/660,990 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 87 cargo, 12 refrigerated cargo, 9 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 vehicle carrier, 17 bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry

Ports [time series]

Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

improved, but still inadequate; connection into Central American Microwave System; 35,100 telephones; stations--176 AM, no FM, 28 TV, 7 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Armed Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

1.9% of GDP, or $82.5 million (1990 est.)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 1,222,858; 727,851 fit for military service; 61,493 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

most important sector, accounting for nearly 30% of GDP, over 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp; importer of wheat

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $776 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $1,053 million; expenditures $949 million, including capital expenditures of $159 million (1989)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

lempira (plural--lempiras); 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Electricity [time series]

655,000 kW capacity; 1,980 million kWh produced, 390 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

lempiras (L) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate); 3.50 parallel exchange and black-market rate (October 1989)

Exports [time series]

$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber; partners--US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$3.2 billion (December 1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$4.4 billion, per capita $890; real growth rate 4.0% (1988)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; transshipment point for cocaine

Imports [time series]

$1.4 billion (c.i.f. 1988); commodities--machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs; partners--US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 5% (1988)

Industries [time series]

agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood products

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

11% (1989)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, accounting for nearly 30% of GDP, employing 62% of the labor force, and producing two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low, however, leaving considerable room for improvement. Although industry is still in its early stages, it employs nearly 15% of the labor force, accounts for 23% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 48% of GDP and employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the economy include a high population growth rate, a high unemployment rate, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and an export sector dependent mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations.

Unemployment rate [time series]

12% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1988)

Geography

Climate [time series]

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Coastline [time series]

820 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Tennessee

Contiguous zone [time series]

24 nm;

Continental shelf [time series]

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

several sections of the boundary with El Salvador are in dispute

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes along Caribbean coast; deforestation; soil erosion

Extended economic zone [time series]

200 nm;

Land boundaries [time series]

1,520 km total; Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km

Land use [time series]

14% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 30% meadows and pastures; 34% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes 1% irrigated

Natural resources [time series]

timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

Terrain [time series]

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

12 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

112,090 km2; land area: 111,890 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

18 departments (departamentos, singular--departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Capital [time series]

Tegucigalpa

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

up to 1,500; Honduran leftist groups--Communist Party of Honduras (PCH), Party for the Transformation of Honduras (PTH), Morazanist Front for the Liberation of Honduras (FMLH), People's Revolutionary Union/Popular Liberation Movement (URP/MPL), Popular Revolutionary Forces-Lorenzo Zelaya (FPR/LZ), Socialist Party of Honduras Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PASO/PRTC)

Constitution [time series]

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Jorge Ramon HERNANDEZ Alcerro; Chancery at Suite 100, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-7700 through 7702; there are Honduran Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Baton Rouge, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville; US--Ambassador Crescencio ARCOS; Embassy at Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa (mailing address is APO Miami 34022); telephone [504] 32-3120

Executive branch [time series]

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua which features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

Independence [time series]

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica) Chief of State and Head of Government--Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS Romero (since 26 January 1990)

Legal system [time series]

rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Honduras

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH), Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), National Union of Campesinos (UNC), General Workers Confederation (CGT), United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH), Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH), Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Liberal Party (PLH)--faction leaders, Carlos Flores Facusse (leader of Florista Liberal Movement), Carlos Montoya (Azconista subfaction), Ramon Villeda Bermudez and Jorge Arturo Reina (M-Lider faction); National Party (PNH), Ricardo Maduro, party president; PNH faction leaders--Oswaldo Ramos Soto and Rafael Leonardo Callejas (Monarca faction); National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democrats (PINU-SD), Enrique Aguilar Cerrato Paz; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Jorge Illescas; Democratic Action (AD), Walter Lopez Reyes

Suffrage [time series]

universal and compulsory at age 18 President--last held on 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results--Leonardo Rafael Callejas (PNH) 51%, Jose Azcona Hoyo (PLH) 43.3%, others 5.7%; National Congress--last held on 24 November 1985 (next to be held November 1993); results--PLH 51%, PNH 45%, PDCH 1.9%, PINU 1.5%, others 0.65; seats--(134 total) PLH 62, PNH 71, PINU 1

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

37 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

90% mestizo (mixed Indian and European), 7% Indian, 2% black, 1% white

Infant mortality rate [time series]

62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

1,300,000; 62% agriculture, 20% services, 9% manufacturing, 3% construction, 6% other (1985)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Spanish, Indian dialects

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

64 years male, 67 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

56%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Honduran(s); adjective--Honduran

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1985)

Population [time series]

5,259,699 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

about 97% Roman Catholic; small Protestant minority

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.8 children born/woman (1990)