Honduras (2003) | Jordan (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 | 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.6% (male 1,414,791; female 1,357,537)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 1,811,757; female 1,843,456) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 114,791; female 127,457) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.23% (male 980,345; female 938,081) 15-64 years: 59.44% (male 1,633,579; female 1,429,631) 65 years and over: 3.33% (male 84,815; female 86,927) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 115 (2002) | 18 (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:
15 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 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) |
total:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-1999). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel. King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and established his domestic priorities. |
Birth rate | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 25.44 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$2.8 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Amman |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 820 km | 26 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 8 January 1952 |
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:
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.4 billion (2002) | $8 billion (2000 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador William J. BURNS embassy: Abdoum, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101 FAX: [962] (6) 5920121 |
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) 966-2604 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): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHER chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
Disputes - international | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but they still remain largely undemarcated; in 2002, El Salvador filed an application to the ICJ to revise the decision on a section of bolsones; the ICJ also advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Golfo de 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 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute in the Caribbean Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | ODA, $850 million (1996 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 reduction of the high crime rate. | Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. Refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) | 6.594 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 308 million kWh (2001) | 407 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) | 6.657 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 50.2%
hydro: 49.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
99.79% hydro: 0.21% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 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 fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 16.43 (2002), 15.47 (2001), 14.84 (2000), 14.21 (1999), 13.39 (1998) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present )
note: since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies |
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:
King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980) head of government: Prime Minister Ali Abul RAGHEB (since 19 June 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) | phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 69.5%, El Salvador 3%, Guatemala 2% (2002) | India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.29 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 32% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total:
8,000 km paved: 8,000 km unpaved: 0 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
2.4% highest 10%: 34.7% (1991) |
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) | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 55.3%, El Salvador 4.3%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) | Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1999 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
20.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.7% (2002 est.) | 0.7% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, 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), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | 630 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) | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 2.3 million (1997 est.) | 1.15 million
note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
1,619 km border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 1% other: 85% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
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 Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; 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 |
bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (a 40-member body appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 4 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Constitutional Party 2, Arab Land Party 1, independents 75, other 2 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.65 years
male: 65.31 years female: 68.06 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
77.53 years male: 75.1 years female: 80.12 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.6% male: 93.4% female: 79.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
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 |
territorial sea:
3 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 250 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 680,784 GRT/765,815 DWT
ships by type: bulk 18, cargo 140, chemical tanker 4, container 7, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 55, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 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, UK 1, US 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919 GRT/57,777 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35 million (FY99) | $608.9 million (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | 7.8% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,594,266 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,458,571 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 948,957 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,034,109 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 74,895 (2003 est.) | males:
57,131 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | droughts |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | -2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 209 km; note - may not be in use |
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] | Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'eed THIYAB, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general] |
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 | Council of Professional Association Presidents [Ahmad al-QADIRI, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general] |
Population | 6,669,789
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 2003 est.) |
5,153,378 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.32% (2003 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Al 'Aqabah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.66 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
total:
677 km narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2000 est.) |
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 (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 20 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:
service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 234,000 (1997) | 403,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,427 (1997) | 11,500 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
Total fertility rate | 4.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (2002 est.) | 15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (navigable by small craft) | none |