Honduras (2008) | Aruba (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
21.29% (male 7,709; female 7,193) 15-64 years: 68.52% (male 23,111; female 24,859) 65 years and over: 10.19% (male 2,954; female 4,181) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm | aloes; livestock; fish |
Airports | 112 (2007) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 100
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 83 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly larger than 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. | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. |
Birth rate | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.089 billion
expenditures: $2.357 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $541 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Tegucigalpa
geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these dates become effective in 2007 |
Oranjestad |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 820 km | 68.5 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times | 1 January 1986 |
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: Aruba |
Currency | - | Aruban guilder/florin (AWG) |
Death rate | 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.871 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $285 million (1996) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES BERMUDEZ
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 (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Disputes - international | International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; 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 the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $680.8 million (2005) | $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996 |
Economy - overview | Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and 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 US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies. Honduras is the fastest growing remittance destination in the region with inflows representing over a quarter of GDP, equivalent to nearly three-quarters of exports. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment. | Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.036 billion kWh (2005) | 418.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 57 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 5.339 billion kWh (2005) | 450 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:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m |
Environment - current issues | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003) | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1% |
chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001) election results: Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA%; Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | 765.4 bbl/day (2004) | $2.2 billion (including oil reexports) (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | US 70.6%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006) | US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (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 | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 31% services: 55.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 12 30 N, 69 58 W |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | - |
Highways | - | total:
800 km paved: 513 km unpaved: 287 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.2% (2003) |
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 | drug-money-laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | 42,620 bbl/day (2004) | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006) | US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.3% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
6.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2007 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | 0.01 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 2.812 million (2007 est.) | 41,501 (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 est.) |
most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
arable land:
7% (including aloe 0.01%) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 93% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish |
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 Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
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 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2 |
unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA December 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AVP 43%, MEP 39%, OLA 9% PPA 4%, ADN 2%, PARA 1%, MAS 0.5%; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
78.52 years male: 75.16 years female: 82.04 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census) |
definition:
NA total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
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 | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
territorial sea:
12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 126 ships (1000 GRT or over) 352,534 GRT/481,217 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 58, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 40 (Bangladesh 1, Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Singapore 10, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2007) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,120 GRT/3,635 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007) | Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Flag Day, 18 March |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | NEGL; white sandy beaches |
Net migration rate | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NEGL |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO] | Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY] |
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 Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH | NA |
Population | 7,483,763
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.) |
70,007 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50.7% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.091% (2007 est.) | 0.64% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 50,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female total population: 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 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: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage; fixed-line teledensity has increased to about 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone service has been increasing rapidly and subscribership in 2006 exceeded 30 per 100 persons international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment:
NA domestic: more than adequate international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
Telephones - main lines in use | 708,400 (2006) | 33,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.241 million (2006) | 3,402 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
Total fertility rate | 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.8% (2007 est.) | 0.6% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007) | none |