Honduras (2001) | West Bank (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 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:
42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684) 15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003) 65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 119 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
107 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 84 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Delaware |
Background | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-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 against leftist guerrillas. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. |
Birth rate | 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $930 million
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | - |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 820 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.4 billion (2000) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Frank ALMAGUER 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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hugo NOE PINO chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville |
- |
Disputes - international | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001. | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.232 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 145 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 3.319 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
44.71% hydro: 55.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
Environment - current issues | 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; severe Hurricane Mitch damage | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) head of government: President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; First Vice President William HANDAL (since NA); Second Vice President Gladys CABALLERO de Arevalo (since NA); Third Vice President Hector Vidal CERRATO Hernandez (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PN) 40%, other 10% |
- |
Exports | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%, Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
Flag description | 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 - $17 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16.2% industry: 31.9% services: 51.9% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | -22% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) |
Highways | total:
15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.2% highest 10%: 42.1% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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; vulnerable to money laundering | - |
Imports | $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%, Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 8 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress) | - |
Labor force | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.) | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 54% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | 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 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 on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 25 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.35 years male: 67.51 years female: 71.28 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.68 years
male: 70.95 years female: 74.51 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.7% male: 72.6% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,515,101 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
902,220 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
72,335 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast | droughts |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Marias FUNES Valladares, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Carlos URBIZO, president] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | 6,406,052
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 2001 est.) |
2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | 60% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.43% (2001 est.) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Radios | 2.45 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate system domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 234,000 (1997) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2000 est.) | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | none |