Montserrat (2006) | Honduras (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.3% (male 1,125/female 1,079)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,957/female 3,245) 65 years and over: 10.9% (male 532/female 501) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 1,414,791; female 1,357,537)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 1,811,757; female 1,843,456) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 114,791; female 127,457) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 115 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
Area | total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possesion of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage. |
Birth rate | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million; including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 44 N, 62 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat |
Tegucigalpa |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 40 km | 820 km |
Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | - | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $5.4 billion (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but they still remain largely undemarcated; in 2002, El Salvador filed an application to the ICJ to revise the decision on a section of bolsones; the ICJ also advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Golfo de 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 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute in the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) | $557.8 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcanic activity and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.86 million kWh (2003) | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 308 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2 million kWh (2003) | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 50.2%
hydro: 49.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006) |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black, white | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
lempiras per US dollar - 16.43 (2002), 15.47 (2001), 14.84 (2000), 14.21 (1999), 13.39 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
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 NA November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda (2004) | US 69.5%, El Salvador 3%, Guatemala 2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $16.29 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 32% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | - | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | 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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2004) | US 55.3%, El Salvador 4.3%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 29.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 7.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, 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), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 4,521
note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
2.3 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005) |
arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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 NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.85 years
male: 76.67 years female: 81.14 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 66.65 years
male: 65.31 years female: 68.06 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 250 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 680,784 GRT/765,815 DWT
ships by type: bulk 18, cargo 140, chemical tanker 4, container 7, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 55, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6, El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1, Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6, UK 1, US 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,594,266 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 948,957 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 74,895 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | NEGL | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; 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 [Raphael CALLEJAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 |
Population | 9,439
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2006 est.) |
6,669,789
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.05% (2006 est.) | 2.32% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 234,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 14,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 28% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 465 km (navigable by small craft) |