Gibraltar (2004) | Honduras (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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: 18% (male 2,554; female 2,452)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 9,460; female 8,965) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 1,939; female 2,463) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | none | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 115 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 6.5 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In referendums held in 1967 and 2002, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. | 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 | 10.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $1.467 billion
expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Gibraltar | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 12 km | 820 km |
Constitution | 30 May 1969 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | Gibraltar pound (GIP) | - |
Death rate | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2000 est.) | $5.365 billion (September 2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
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 | since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year-old UK colony have stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite 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 | Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment. | 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 U.S.-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 commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2001) | 3.771 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 16 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 415 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2001) | 3.626 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant | 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 | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North Africans | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound | lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001), 14.839 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief Sir Francis RICHARDS (since 27 May 2003)
head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister 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 chief minister by the governor |
chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
Exports - partners | Germany 25.6%, France 24.8%, UK 14.3%, Turkmenistan 9.4%, Switzerland 7.5%, Spain 5.6% (2003) | US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%, Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band | 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 - $500 million (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 32.1% services: 55.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 8 N, 5 21 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total: 29 km
paved: 29 km unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
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 |
Imports - commodities | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | Spain 26.5%, UK 14.8%, Russia 8.2%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 6.5%, France 5.3%, Germany 4.6%, Romania 4.2% (2003) | US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 29.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (1998) | 7% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), UPU | ABEDA, 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 (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999) | 2.47 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60% | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1.2 km
border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
Languages | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, 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 | unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, one appointed for the Speaker, and two ex officio members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2003 (next to be held not later than February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 |
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 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.52 years
male: 76.65 years female: 82.54 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 69.3 years
male: 67.71 years female: 70.97 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: above 80% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain | 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 | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 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: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, container 27, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 3, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, France 1, Germany 92, Greece 11, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 1, Monaco 4, Norway 6, Spain 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 2 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment | - |
Military branches | Royal Gibraltar Regiment | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $100.6 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (2004) |
National holiday | National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go with Spain | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | none | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association | 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 Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 27,833 (July 2004 est.) | 6,975,204
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2004 est.) | 2.16% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gibraltar | Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991) | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: country code - 350; radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 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 | 24,512 (2002) | 322,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,797 (2002) | 326,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 28.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) |