Honduras (2004) | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (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; also claimed by Argentina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,434,555; female 1,376,216)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,866,219; female 1,896,027) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 118,404; female 132,147) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | fodder and vegetable crops; sheep, dairy products |
Airports | 115 (2003 est.) | 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
12,173 sq km land: 12,173 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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 approximately $2 billion in damage. | Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. |
Birth rate | 31.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $1.342 billion
expenditures: $1.744 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2003) |
revenues:
$66.2 million expenditures: $67.9 million, including capital expenditures of $23.2 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Stanley |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate |
Coastline | 820 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 3 October 1985; amended 1997 and 1998 |
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: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | Falkland pound (FKP) |
Death rate | 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $5.246 billion (2003) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina |
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; also claimed by Argentina) |
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 honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Disputes - international | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, and the OAS is assisting with a technical resolution of bolsones; in 2003, the ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one bolsone; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; 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 | claimed by Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $1.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade 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 has 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. | The economy was formerly based on agriculture, mainly sheep farming, but today fishing contributes the bulk of economic activity. In 1987 the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40 million per year, which goes to support the island's health, education, and welfare system. Squid accounts for 75% of the fish taken. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. To encourage tourism, the Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for visitors attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing. The islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day; to date no exploitable site has been identified. An agreement between Argentina and the UK in 1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) | 11.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 308 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) | 12 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | 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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Usborne 705 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | British |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 17.3453 (2003), 16.4334 (2002), 15.4737 (2001), 14.8392 (2000), 14.2132 (1999) | Falkland 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 Falkland 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 27 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) head of government: Governor Donald LAMONT (since NA May 1999); Chief Executive A. M. GURR (since NA); Financial Secretary D. F. HOWATT (since NA) cabinet: Executive Council; three members elected by the Legislative Council, two ex officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary), and the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $7.6 million (1995) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) | wool, hides, meat |
Exports - partners | US 65.5%, El Salvador 3.5%, Guatemala 2.4% (2003) | UK, Japan, Chile, NZ |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.55 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $52 million (FY95/96 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 31.9% services: 55.3% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (FY95/96 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 1% (FY95/96 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 51 45 S, 59 00 W |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total:
440 km paved: 50 km unpaved: 390 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
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 | NA (2001) | $24.7 million (1995) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | fuel, food and drink, building materials, clothing |
Imports - partners | US 53.1%, El Salvador 4.5%, Mexico 3% (2003) | UK, Japan, Chile, NZ |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | wool and fish processing; sale of stamps and coins |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 3.6% (1998) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ICFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 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 (chief justice is a nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions) |
Labor force | 2.41 million (2003 est.) | 1,100 (est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding and fishing) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 99% forests and woodland: 0% other: 1% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | English |
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 common 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 27 November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
unicameral Legislative Council (10 seats - 2 ex officio, 8 elected by popular vote, members serve four-year terms) presided over by the governor
elections: last held 9 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2001) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years female: 67.37 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
- |
Location | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200 NM exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk 12, cargo 139, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 3 foreign-owned: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 4, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 5, El Salvador 1, Greece 16, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Israel 1, Italy 1, Japan 2, Jordan 1, South Korea 9, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 10, Philippines 1, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 22, Spain 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Thailand 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United States 7, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1 registered in other countries: 16 (2004 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force | British Forces Falkland Islands (includes Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines), Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $99.8 million (2003) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,642,029 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 977,130 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 76,143 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Falkland Islander(s) adjective: Falkland Island |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | strong winds persist throughout the year |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | fish, wildlife |
Net migration rate | -1.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH | none; all independents |
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 | none |
Population | 6,823,568
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 2004 est.) |
2,895 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.24% (2004 est.) | 2.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Stanley |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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 (2004 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment:
NA domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) with links through London to other countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 2 (operated by the British Forces Broadcasting Service) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 27.5% (2003 est.) | full employment; labor shortage |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | none |