Honduras (2004) | Malawi (2008) | |
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 | 28 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Neno, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba |
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: 46.1% (male 3,143,724/female 3,130,937)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 3,491,114/female 3,474,209) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 155,954/female 207,243) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats |
Airports | 115 (2003 est.) | 39 (2007) |
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: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2007) |
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: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 16 (2007) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2005. As president, MUTHARIKA has overseen substantial economic improvement but because of political deadlock in the legislature, his minority party has been unable to pass significant legislation and anti-corruption measures have stalled. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi. |
Birth rate | 31.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 42.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.342 billion
expenditures: $1.744 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2003) |
revenues: $1.082 billion
expenditures: $1.142 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | name: Lilongwe
geographic coordinates: 13 59 S, 33 47 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 820 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 18 May 1994 |
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 Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi local long form: Dziko la Malawi local short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | lempira (HNL) | - |
Death rate | 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.246 billion (2003) | $622 million (31 December 2007 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 Alan EASTHAM
embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] (1) 773 166 FAX: [265] (1) 770 471 |
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 Hawa NDILOWE
chancery: 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 721-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 721-0288 |
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 | disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $575.3 million (2005) |
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. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's most densely populated and least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 85% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for more than one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for more than half of exports. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In December 2007 the US granted Malawi eligibility status to receive financial support within the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) initiative. Malawi will now begin a consultative process to develop a five-year program before funding can begin. In 2006, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces many challenges, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, President MUTHARIKA championed an anticorruption campaign. Since 2005 President MUTHARIKA'S government has exhibited improved financial discipline under the guidance of Finance Minister Goodall GONDWE and signed a three year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility worth $56 million with the IMF. Improved relations with the IMF lead other international donors to resume aid as well. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) | 1.299 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 308 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) | 1.397 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 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 | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 17.3453 (2003), 16.4334 (2002), 15.4737 (2001), 14.8392 (2000), 14.2132 (1999) | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 141.12 (2007), 135.96 (2006), 108.894 (2005), 108.898 (2004), 97.433 (2003) |
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 Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004) cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: Bingu wa MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Bingu wa MUTHARIKA 35.9%, John TEMBO 27.1%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA 25.7%, Brown MPINGANJIRA 8.7%, Justin MALEWEZI 2.5% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) | tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | US 65.5%, El Salvador 3.5%, Guatemala 2.4% (2003) | South Africa 12.6%, Germany 9.7%, Egypt 9.6%, US 9.5%, Zimbabwe 8.5%, Russia 5.4%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.55 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 31.9% services: 55.3% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 18.6% services: 45.1% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 5.7% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature |
Government - note | - | no party has a majority in the fractured legislature |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 31.8% (2004) |
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) | 6,263 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | US 53.1%, El Salvador 4.5%, Mexico 3% (2003) | South Africa 33.9%, India 8%, Zambia 7.6%, US 6.3%, Tanzania 5.7%, Germany 4.5%, China 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 2.5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
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.) |
total: 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 96.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 8% (2007 est.) |
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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | 560 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 2.41 million (2003 est.) | 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
arable land: 20.68%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 78.14% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) |
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 English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MCP 56, UDF 49, independents 39, RP 15, others 25, vacancies 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years female: 67.37 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 42.98 years
male: 43.35 years female: 42.61 years (2007 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: 62.7% male: 76.1% female: 49.8% (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 Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force | Malawi Armed Forces: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $99.8 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2003) | 1.3% (2006) |
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) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
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 | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | -1.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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 | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD; Congress for National Unity or CONU; Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Bingu wa MUTHARIKA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; Malawi Forum for Unity and Development or MAFUNDE [George MNESA]; Mgwirizano Coalition or MC [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA] (coalition of MAFUNDE, MDP, MGODE, NUP, PETRA, PPM, RP); Movement for Genuine Democratic Change or MGODE [Sam Kandodo BANDA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Brown MPINGANJIRA]; National Unity Party or NUP [Harry CHIUME]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Aleke BANDA]; People's Transformation Movement or PETRA [Kamuzu CHIBAMBO]; Republican Party or RP [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH | NA |
Population | 6,823,568
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.) |
13,603,181
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | 53% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 2.24% (2004 est.) | 2.383% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus one shortwave station on standby) (2001) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority | Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.005 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.753 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 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: rudimentary
domestic: fixed-line subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; privatization of Malawi Telecommunications (MTL), a necessary step in bringing improvement to telecommunications services, completed in 2006; mobile-cellular services are expanding but cellular network coverage is limited, and is based around the main urban areas international: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | 102,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | 429,300 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.5% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | 700 km (on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River) (2007) |