Honduras (2005) | Bermuda (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 parishes and 2 municipalities*; Devonshire, Hamilton, Hamilton*, Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*, Saint Georges, Sandys, Smiths, Southampton, Warwick |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
19.4% (male 6,091; female 6,230) 15-64 years: 69.43% (male 21,783; female 22,309) 65 years and over: 11.17% (male 3,073; female 4,017) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers; dairy products |
Airports | 115 (2004 est.) | 1 (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:
1 2,438 to 3,047 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.) |
- |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
58.8 sq km land: 58.8 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a 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 leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. | Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists headed for Virginia. Tourism to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on independence was soundly defeated in 1995. |
Birth rate | 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.467 billion
expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$504.6 million expenditures: $537 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (FY97/98) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Hamilton |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in winter |
Coastline | 820 km | 103 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | 8 June 1968, amended 1989 |
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: Bermuda former: Somers Islands |
Currency | - | Bermudian dollar (BMD) |
Death rate | 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.365 billion (September 2004 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
chief of mission:
Consul General Lawrence D. OWEN consulate(s) general: Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire, Hamilton mailing address: P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; American Consulate General Hamilton, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-5300 telephone: [1] (441) 295-1342 FAX: [1] (441) 295-1592 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; 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 in the ICJ ruling, 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, which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $27.9 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 under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. | Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, having successfully exploited its location by providing financial services for international firms and luxury tourist facilities for 360,000 visitors annually. The tourist industry, which accounts for an estimated 28% of GDP, attracts 84% of its business from North America. The industrial sector is small, and agriculture is severely limited by a lack of suitable land. About 80% of food needs are imported. International business contributes over 60% of Bermuda's economic output; a failed independence vote in late 1995 can be partially attributed to Bermudian fears of scaring away foreign firms. Government economic priorities are the further strengthening of the tourist and international financial sectors. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.771 billion kWh (2002) | 511.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 16 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 415 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.626 billion kWh (2002) | 550 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: Town Hill 76 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 | asbestos disposal; water pollution; preservation of open space |
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% | black 58%, white 36%, other 6% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001), 14.839 (2000) | Bermudian dollar per US dollar - 1.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
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), represented by Governor Thorold MASEFIELD (since NA June 1997) head of government: Premier Jennifer SMITH (since 10 November 1998) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; governor invites leader of largest party in Parliament to form a government as premier |
Exports | NA | $56 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | reexports of pharmaceuticals |
Exports - partners | US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%, Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) | UK 29.5%, US 9.8% (1997) |
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 | red, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Bermudian coat of arms (white and green shield with a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 32.1% services: 55.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 10% services: 89% (1995 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $33,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2004 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 32 20 N, 64 45 W |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | consists of about 360 small coral islands with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land, reclaimed and otherwise, was leased by US Government from 1941 to 1995 |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total:
225 km paved: 225 km unpaved: 0 km note: in addition, there are 232 km of paved and unpaved roads that are privately owned (1997) |
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 | $739 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, chemicals, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) | US 34%, UK 9%, Mexico 8% (1997) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | tourism, finance, insurance, structural concrete products, paints, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, ship repairing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
9.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2004 est.) | 2.7% (2000 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 | Caricom (observer), CCC, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 20 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 2.47 million (2004 est.) | 35,296 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | clerical 23%, services 22%, laborers 17%, professional and technical 17%, administrative and managerial 12%, sales 7%, agriculture and fishing 2% (1996) |
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:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 94% (55% developed, 39% rural/open space) (1997 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | English (official), Portuguese |
Legal system | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (an 11-member body appointed by the governor) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 54%, UBP 44%, NLP 1%, independents 1%; seats by party - PLP 26, UBP 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.3 years
male: 67.71 years female: 70.97 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
77.12 years male: 75.04 years female: 79.06 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: 98% female: 99% (1970 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 | North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of North Carolina (US) |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | North 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 |
exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
total:
105 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,836,538 GRT/9,728,045 DWT ships by type: bulk 27, cargo 4, container 15, liquefied gas 7, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 16, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 10, Hong Kong 10, Japan 1, Nigeria 4, Saudi Arabia 1, Sweden 3, Switzerland 2, UK 10, US 7 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda Police Force, Bermuda Reserve Constabulary |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.6 million (2004) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2004) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Bermuda Day, 24 May |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Bermudian(s) adjective: Bermudian |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | hurricanes (June to November) |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | limestone, pleasant climate fostering tourism |
Net migration rate | -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 | National Liberal Party or NLP [Dessaline WALDRON]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [Jennifer SMITH]; United Bermuda Party or UBP [Pamela GORDON] |
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 | Bermuda Industrial Union or BIU [Derrick BURGESS]; Bermuda Public Services Association or BPSA [Betty CHRISTOPHER] |
Population | 6,975,204
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 2005 est.) |
63,503 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.16% (2005 est.) | 0.74% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela | Hamilton, Saint George |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 82,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | non-Anglican Protestant 39%, Anglican 27%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 19% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
0.94 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 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: modern, fully automatic telephone system international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | 52,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | 7,980 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | low hills separated by fertile depressions |
Total fertility rate | 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28.5% (2004 est.) | NEGL% (1995) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | none |