Honduras (2005) | Djibouti (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 | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
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:
42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859) 15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841) 65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 115 (2004 est.) | 12 (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 over 3,047 m: 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.) |
total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
22,000 sq km land: 21,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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. | The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994 ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels. |
Birth rate | 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.467 billion
expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$133 million expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Djibouti |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 820 km | 314 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
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 Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | - | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.365 billion (September 2004 est.) | $356 million (1999 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 Donald YAMAMOTO embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye Oudine chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
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) | $106.3 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. | The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of 40% to 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the US dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.771 billion kWh (2002) | 167.4 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) | 180 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:
Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001), 14.839 (2000) | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) |
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 GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999); head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed Dilleita (since 4 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president; percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
Exports | NA | $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%, Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) | Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 32.1% services: 55.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 22% services: 75% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2004 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total:
2,890 km paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
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 | $440 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) | France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling |
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.) |
101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2004 est.) | 2% (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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (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 or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 2.47 million (2004 est.) | 282,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
508 km border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
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 French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic 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 Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.3 years
male: 67.71 years female: 70.97 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
51.21 years male: 49.37 years female: 53.1 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: 46.2% male: 60.3% female: 32.7% (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 Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic 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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.6 million (2004) | $23 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2004) | 4.5% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
108,038 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
63,589 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 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 | Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH] |
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 | Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy or MUD |
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.) |
460,700 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.16% (2005 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 52,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
total:
100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003 |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | NA years of age; universal adult |
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:
telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country domestic: microwave radio relay network international: submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | 203 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28.5% (2004 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | none |