Honduras (2008) | Iraq (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 | 18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit |
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:
41.64% (male 4,934,340; female 4,781,206) 15-64 years: 55.28% (male 6,528,854; female 6,368,823) 65 years and over: 3.08% (male 335,953; female 382,809) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 112 (2007) | 110 (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:
76 over 3,047 m: 20 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (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) |
total:
34 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
437,072 sq km land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho |
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. | Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq became an independent kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen have ruled the country since then, the latest being SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-1988). In August 1990 Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during January-February 1991. The victors did not occupy Iraq, however, thus allowing the regime to stay in control. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. UN trade sanctions remain in effect due to incomplete Iraqi compliance with relevant UNSC resolutions. |
Birth rate | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.64 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: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
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 |
Baghdad |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq |
Coastline | 820 km | 58 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times | 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (provisional constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted |
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 Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
Currency | - | Iraqi dinar (IQD) |
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.) | $139 billion (2000 est.) |
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 |
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad; address: P. O. Box 2051 Hay Babel, Baghdad; telephone: [964] (1) 718-9267; FAX: [964] (1) 718-9297 |
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; note - Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy headed by Akram AL DOURI; address: Iraqi Interests Section, Algerian Embassy, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500; FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 |
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 | Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands although the government continues periodic rhetorical challenges; dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers |
Economic aid - recipient | $680.8 million (2005) | $327.5 million (1995) |
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. | Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses of at least $100 billion from the war. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program in December 1996 has helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six, six-month phases of the program, Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Oil exports are now more than three-quarters their prewar level. Per capita food imports have increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services are steadily improving. Per capita output and living standards are still well below the prewar level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.036 billion kWh (2005) | 27.361 billion 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) | 29.42 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
97.96% hydro: 2.04% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Haji Ibrahim 3,600 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 | government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; 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:
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003) | Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 0.3109 (fixed official rate since 1982); black market rate - Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,910 (December 1999), 1,815 (December 1998), 1,530 (December 1997), 910 (December 1996), 3,000 (December 1995); note - subject to wide fluctuations |
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:
President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice Presidents Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974) and Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991) head of government: Prime Minister SADDAM Husayn (since 29 May 1994); Deputy Prime Ministers Tariq Mikhail AZIZ (since NA 1979), Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-AZZAWI (since 30 July 1999), Ahmad Husayn al-KHUDAYIR (since NA July 2001), and Abd al-Tawab Mullah al-HUWAYSH (since NA July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers; note - there is also a Revolutionary Command Council or RCC (Chairman SADDAM Husayn, Vice Chairman Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri) which controls the ruling Ba'th Party, and is the most powerful political entity in the country elections: president and vice presidents elected by a two-thirds majority of the Revolutionary Command Council; election last held 17 October 1995 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: SADDAM Husayn reelected president; percent of vote - 99%; Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF and Taha Yasin RAMADAN elected vice presidents; percent of vote - NA% |
Exports | 765.4 bbl/day (2004) | $21.8 billion (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | crude oil |
Exports - partners | US 70.6%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006) | Russia, France, Switzerland, China (2000) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria which has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $57 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 31% services: 55.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
6% industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | - |
Heliports | - | 4 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
45,550 km paved: 38,400 km unpaved: 7,150 km (1996 est.) |
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 | - |
Imports | 42,620 bbl/day (2004) | $13.8 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006) | Egypt, Russia, France, Vietnam (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.3% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing |
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.) |
60.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2007 est.) | 100% (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 | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | 25,500 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Court of Cassation |
Labor force | 2.812 million (2007 est.) | 4.4 million (1989) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
3,631 km border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 0% other: 79% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
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 Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (250 seats; 30 appointed by the president to represent the three northern provinces of Dahuk, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah; 220 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
66.95 years male: 65.92 years female: 68.03 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:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58% male: 70.7% female: 45% (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 | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
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 |
continental shelf:
not specified 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:
30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 453,273 GRT/779,662 DWT ships by type: cargo 14, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 12, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007) | Army, Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Fedayeen Saddam |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
5,902,215 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
3,301,880 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
274,035 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Iraqi(s) adjective: Iraqi |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
Net migration rate | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km |
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] | Ba'th Party [SADDAM Husayn, central party leader] |
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 | any formal political activity must be sanctioned by the government; opposition to regime from Kurdish groups and southern Shi'a dissidents |
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.) |
23,331,985 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50.7% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.091% (2007 est.) | 2.84% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.85 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
total:
2,032 km standard gauge: 2,032 km 1.435-m gauge note: rail link between Iraq and Syria restored in 2000 after 19 years |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 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:
reconstitution of damaged telecommunication facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged facilities have been rebuilt domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
Telephones - main lines in use | 708,400 (2006) | 675,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.241 million (2006) | NA; service available in northern Iraq (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 13 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
Total fertility rate | 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.8% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007) | 1,015 km
note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war |