Honduras (2004) | Korea, South (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 | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi* |
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:
21.59% (male 5,475,453; female 4,864,918) 15-64 years: 71.14% (male 17,291,202; female 16,789,380) 65 years and over: 7.27% (male 1,352,312; female 2,131,105) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 115 (2003 est.) | 102 (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:
68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 21 (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:
34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly larger 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 approximately $2 billion in damage. | After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the north. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953 splitting the peninsula at the 38th parallel known as the DMZ. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to 13 times the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifeling committment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize. |
Birth rate | 31.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.342 billion
expenditures: $1.744 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2003) |
revenues:
$81.8 billion expenditures: $94.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1 billion (1999) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Seoul |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Coastline | 820 km | 2,413 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 25 February 1988 |
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 Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han-guk" to refer to their country abbreviation: ROK |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | South Korean won (KRW) |
Death rate | 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.246 billion (2003) | $137 billion (November 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
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 | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $NA |
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. | As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the country's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) | 232.767 billion 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) | 250.287 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
59.22% hydro: 1.64% nuclear: 39.12% other: 0.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 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 | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
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 |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 17.3453 (2003), 16.4334 (2002), 15.4737 (2001), 14.8392 (2000), 14.2132 (1999) | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,271.89 (January 2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997), 804.45 (1996) |
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:
President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $172.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish |
Exports - partners | US 65.5%, El Salvador 3.5%, Guatemala 2.4% (2003) | US 20.5%, Japan 11%, China 9.5%, Hong Kong 6.3%, Taiwan 4.4% (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 | white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.55 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 31.9% services: 55.3% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
5.6% industry: 41.4% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | - |
Heliports | - | 203 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total:
87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.3% (1993) |
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) | $160.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains |
Imports - partners | US 53.1%, El Salvador 4.5%, Mexico 3% (2003) | US 20.8%, Japan 20.2%, China 7.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 3.9% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 17% (2000) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing |
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.) |
7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 2.3% (2000) |
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 | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | 13,350 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) | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.41 million (2003 est.) | 22 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | services 68%, industry 20%, agriculture 12% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
arable land:
19% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 65% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school |
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 | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
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 National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years female: 67.37 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
74.65 years male: 70.97 years female: 78.74 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: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 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 | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait |
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.) |
total:
496 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,421,993 GRT/8,757,034 DWT ships by type: bulk 105, cargo 168, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5, container 49, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 70, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $99.8 million (2003) | $12 billion (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2003) | 3.2% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,642,029 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
14,148,552 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 977,130 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
8,979,778 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 76,143 (2004 est.) | males:
394,397 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Korean(s) adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -1.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 455 km; note - additionally, there is a parallel petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) pipeline being completed |
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 | Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP |
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 | Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations |
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.) |
47,904,370 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.24% (2004 est.) | 0.89% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 47.5 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
total:
6,240 km standard gauge: 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 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: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | 24 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | 27 million (June 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Total fertility rate | 3.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.5% (2003 est.) | 4.1% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft |