Honduras (2002) | Gibraltar (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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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:
18.73% (male 2,652; female 2,528) 15-64 years: 66.33% (male 9,473; female 8,866) 65 years and over: 14.94% (male 1,733; female 2,397) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | none |
Airports | 117 (2001) | 1 (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:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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) |
- |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
6.5 sq km land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | 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 a 1967 referendum, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. |
Birth rate | 31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.25 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$307 million expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Gibraltar |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers |
Coastline | 820 km | 12 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 30 May 1969 |
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: Gibraltar |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | Gibraltar pound (GIP) |
Death rate | 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.6 billion (2001) (2001) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | source of friction between Spain and the UK |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) (1999) | $NA |
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. | 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 11% to the local economy. The financial sector accounts for 20% of GDP; tourism (almost 6 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.593 billion kWh (2000) | 88.4 million 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) | 95 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 63% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 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 | limited natural freshwater resources; large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese |
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) | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief David DURIE (since 5 April 2000); note - DURIE was appointed in February 2000 but took office in April 2000 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; note - there is also a Gibraltar Council that advises the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister appointed by the governor |
Exports | $2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $81.1 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium 5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000) | UK, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, Germany |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 32% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 36 11 N, 5 22 W |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
Highways | total: 15,400 km
paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
total:
46.25 km paved: 46.25 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $492 million (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico 4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000) | UK, Spain, Japan, Netherlands |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | tourism, banking and finance, ship-building and repairing; support to large UK naval and air bases; tobacco, mineral water, beer, canned fish |
Infant mortality rate | 30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.7% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (1998) |
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 | Interpol (subbureau) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | services 60%, industry 40%, agriculture NEGL% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
1.2 km border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian |
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 | English law |
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 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 10 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.77 years
male: 67.11 years female: 70.51 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
79.09 years male: 76.23 years female: 82.1 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74% male: 74% female: 74.1% (1999) |
definition:
NA total population: above 80% 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 | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
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 |
territorial sea:
3 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:
49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 669,056 GRT/1,003,809 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 15, chemical tanker 6, container 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force | British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,563,174 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 930,718 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 72,335 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Commonwealth Day, second Monday of March |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Gibraltarian(s) adjective: Gibraltar |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | NA |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 0 km |
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] | Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] |
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 | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Housewives Association |
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.) |
27,649 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.34% (2002 est.) | 0.24% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Gibraltar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 2.45 million (1997) | 37,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 595 km
narrow gauge: 318 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge (2000) |
total:
NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991) |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment:
adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 234,000 (1997) | 19,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | 1,620 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar |
Total fertility rate | 4.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2001 est.) | 13.5% (1996) |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | none |