Bermuda (2003) | Honduras (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 parishes and 2 municipalities*; Devonshire, Hamilton, Hamilton*, Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*, Saint George's, Sandys, Smith's, Southampton, Warwick | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.2% (male 6,195; female 6,205)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 22,110; female 22,574) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 3,215; female 4,183) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.9% (male 1,491,170/female 1,429,816)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 2,076,727/female 2,077,975) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 113,747/female 137,061) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers; dairy products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 116 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 105
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 84 (2006) |
Area | total: 53.3 sq km
land: 53.3 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-third the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists headed for Virginia. Tourism to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on independence was soundly defeated in 1995. | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. |
Birth rate | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 28.24 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $609.5 million
expenditures: $574.6 million, including capital expenditures of $54.8 million (FY 00/01) |
revenues: $1.693 billion
expenditures: $1.938 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Hamilton | name: Tegucigalpa
geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these new dates become effective in 2007 |
Climate | subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in winter | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 103 km | 820 km |
Constitution | 8 June 1968, amended 1989 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bermuda former: Somers Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | Bermudian dollar (BMD) | - |
Death rate | 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.28 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $145 million (FY 99/00) | $5.795 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Consul General Denis Patrick COLEMAN, Jr.
consulate(s) general: Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire DVO3 mailing address: P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; American Consulate General Hamilton, Department of State, 5300 Hamilton Place, Washington, DC 20520-5300 telephone: [1] (441) 295-1342 FAX: [1] (441) 295-1592, [1] (441) 296-9233 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite Organization of American States (OAS) intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $557.8 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, with its economy primarily based on providing financial services for international business and luxury facilities for tourists. The effects of 11 September 2001 have had both positive and negative ramifications for Bermuda. On the positive side, a number of new reinsurance companies have located on the island, contributing to the expansion of an already robust international business sector. On the negative side, Bermuda's tourism industry - which derives over 80% of its visitors from the US - has been severely hit as American tourists have chosen not to travel. Tourism rebounded somewhat in 2002, but remains below the pre-11 September level. Most capital equipment and food must be imported. Bermuda's industrial sector is small, although construction continues to be important. Agriculture is limited, only 6% of the land being arable. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, on continued exports of non-traditional agricultural products (such as melons, chiles, tilapia, and shrimp), and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 598.6 million kWh (2001) | 4.369 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 335 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 643.7 million kWh (2001) | 4.338 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Town Hill 76 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | asbestos disposal; water pollution; preservation of open space; sustainable development | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 58%, white 36%, other 6% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Bermudian dollar per US dollar - 1.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | lempiras per US dollar - 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Sir John VEREKER (since NA April 2002)
head of government: Premier Alex SCOTT (since 24 July 2003) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); First Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); Third Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); First Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); Third Vice President (vacant) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (PL) elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa (PN) 46.1%, other 4.1% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | reexports of pharmaceuticals | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
Exports - partners | France 77.4%, UK 2.8%, US 2.4% (2002) | US 73.2%, Guatemala 2.9%, El Salvador 2.9% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Bermudian coat of arms (white and green shield with a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag | 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 word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.25 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 10% services: 89% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 13.9%
industry: 31.2% services: 54.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $35,200 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2002 est.) | 4.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 20 N, 64 45 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by US Government from 1941 to 1995 | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total: 450 km
paved: 450 km unpaved: 0 km note: public roads - 209 km; private roads - 241 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, chemicals, food and live animals | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | Kazakhstan 30.9%, France 24.7%, Italy 10.5%, US 9.7%, South Korea 8.4%, Mexico 4.3% (2002) | US 53.1%, Guatemala 6.5%, El Salvador 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, international business, light manufacturing | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 25.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (July 2002) | 8.8% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 800 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 37,472 (2000) | 2.54 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | clerical 22%, services 20%, laborers 17%, professional and technical 17%, administrative and managerial 13%, sales 8%, agriculture and fishing 3% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 34%
industry: 21% services: 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 0% other: 94% (55% developed, 45% rural/open space) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Portuguese | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | English law | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (an 11-member body appointed by the governor, the premier, and the opposition) and the House of Assembly (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last general election held 24 July 2003 (next to be held NA July 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 51.7%, UBP 48%; seats by party - PLP 22, UBP 14 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.41 years
male: 75.38 years female: 79.49 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 69.33 years
male: 67.75 years female: 70.98 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of North Carolina (US) | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | North America | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,993,227 GRT/7,089,760 DWT
ships by type: bulk 25, cargo 4, chemical tanker 1, container 14, liquefied gas 9, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 5, Denmark 2, Germany 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 9, Indonesia 1, Norway 2, Sweden 11, United Kingdom 52, United States 13 (2002 est.) |
total: 136 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,984 GRT/557,179 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 61, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 43 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 3, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Qatar 1, Singapore 11, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda Police Force, Bermuda Reserve Constabulary | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.028 million (January 2002) | $52.8 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.11% (FY00/01) | 2.55% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bermuda Day, 24 May | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Bermudian(s)
adjective: Bermudian |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to November) | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | limestone, pleasant climate fostering tourism | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Liberal Party or NLP [Dessaline WALDRON]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [Jennifer SMITH]; United Bermuda Party or UBP [Chairman Wayne FURBERT] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Saul ESCOBAR Andrade]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Gilberto GOLDSTEIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Bermuda Employer's Union [Eddie SAINTS]; Bermuda Industrial Union or BIU [Derrick BURGESS]; Bermuda Public Services Association or BPSA [leader NA]; Bermuda Union of Teachers [Michael CHARLES] | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
Population | 64,482 (July 2003 est.) | 7,326,496
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2003 est.) | 2.16% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hamilton, Saint George's, Dockyard | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | non-Anglican Protestant 39%, Anglican 27%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 19% | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: modern, fully automatic telephone system international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 52,000 (1997) | 494,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,980 (1996) | 1.282 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | low hills separated by fertile depressions | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.59 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1993) | 28% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2005) |