Honduras (2002) | Cuba (2001) | |
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 | 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.8% (male 1,400,778; female 1,340,834)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,774,619; female 1,806,568) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 112,100; female 125,709) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070) 15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878) 65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 117 (2001) | 171 (2000 est.) |
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: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total:
77 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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 country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage. | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these. |
Birth rate | 31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Havana |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 820 km | 3,735 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 |
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:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | Cuban peso (CUP) |
Death rate | 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.6 billion (2001) (2001) | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
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, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville, and St. Louis |
none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 |
Disputes - international | Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize; El Salvador disputes tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication in 1992; 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 a tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) (1999) | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, 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 the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on containment of the recent rise in crime. | The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.593 billion kWh (2000) | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 5 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 275 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.573 billion kWh (2000) | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 63% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 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 | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation |
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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 16.0256 (January 2002), 15.9197 (2001), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997) | Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001) |
Executive branch | 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 NA November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
Exports | $2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium 5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000) | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 32% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2001 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | largest country in Caribbean |
Highways | total: 15,400 km
paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 44% (1997) (1997) |
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; some money-laundering activity | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 |
Imports | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico 4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000) | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 20 May 1902 (from US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery |
Infant mortality rate | 30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.7% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
Land use | arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Spanish |
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 | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003) election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.77 years
male: 67.11 years female: 70.51 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74% male: 74% female: 74.1% (1999) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 284 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 749,243 GRT/846,942 DWT
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 166, chemical tanker 5, container 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6, El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1, Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force | Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,563,174 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,090,633 females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 930,718 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,911,160 females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 72,335 (2002 est.) | males:
79,562 females: 85,650 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; 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 [Raphael CALLEJAS] | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
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 | NA |
Population | 6,560,608
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 2002 est.) |
11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.34% (2002 est.) | 0.37% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 2.45 million (1997) | 3.9 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 595 km
narrow gauge: 318 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge (2000) |
total:
11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 16 years of age; universal |
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: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 234,000 (1997) | 473,031 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | 2,994 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 58 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 4.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | 240 km |