Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2007) - Honduras (2008)

Compare Northern Mariana Islands (2007) z Honduras (2008)

	Northern Mariana Islands (2007)	Honduras (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order: Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian	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: 18.9% (male 8,354/female 7,612) 15-64 years: 79.5% (male 27,334/female 39,860) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 717/female 669) (2007 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle	bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm
Airports	5 (2007)	112 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	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)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 100 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 83 (2007)
Area	total: 477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian	total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative	2.5 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than Tennessee
Background	Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.	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.
Birth rate	19.27 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $193 million expenditures: $223 million (FY01/02 est.)	revenues: $2.089 billion expenditures: $2.357 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Saipan geographic coordinates: 15 12 N, 145 45 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	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
Climate	tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October	subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Coastline	1,482 km	820 km
Constitution	Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement fully effective 4 November 1986	11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands abbreviation: CNMI former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Mariana Islands District	conventional long form: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras
Death rate	2.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$3.871 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Dependency status	commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular 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
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
Disputes - international	none	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
Economic aid - recipient	extensive funding from US	$680.8 million (2005)
Economy - overview	The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with the employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions.	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.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	4.036 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	57 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	5.339 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Environment - current issues	contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development	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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census)	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	lempiras per US dollar - 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Benigno R. FITIAL (since 9 January 2006); Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. VILLAGOMEZ (since 9 January 2006) cabinet: the cabinet consists of the heads of the 10 principal departments under the executive branch who are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; other members include Special Assistants to the governor and office heads appointed by and reporting directly to the governor elections: under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Benigno R. FITIAL elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Benigno R. FITIAL 28.07%, Heinz HOFSCHNEIDER 27.34%, Juan BABAUTA 26.6%, Froilan TENORIO 17.99%	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%
Exports	$NA	765.4 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	garments	coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
Exports - partners	US (2006)	US 70.6%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 October - 30 September	calendar year
Flag description	blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 13.5% industry: 31% services: 55.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	15 12 N, 145 45 E	15 00 N, 86 30 W
Geography - note	strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean	has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 42.2% (2003)
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	$214.4 million (2001)	42,620 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products	machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US, Japan (2006)	US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006)
Independence	none (commonwealth in political union with the US)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	5.3% (2007 est.)
Industries	tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts	sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Infant mortality rate	total: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.8% (2000)	6.4% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	Interpol (subbureau), SPC, UPU	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
Irrigated land	NA	800 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court	Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Labor force	44,470 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (2000)	2.812 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 34% industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 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: 13.04% permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2005)	arable land: 9.53% permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005)
Languages	Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census)	Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Legal system	based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation	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	bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 3 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2009); House of Representatives - last held 3 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Covenant Party 3, Republican Party 3, Democratic Party 1, independents 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 12, Covenant Party 4, Democratic Party 1, independents 3 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO)	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.29 years male: 73.7 years female: 79.05 years (2007 est.)	total population: 69.35 years male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census)
Location	Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines	Central 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	Oceania	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 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)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the US	-
Military branches	-	Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.6% (2006 est.)
National holiday	Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: NA (US citizens) adjective: NA	noun: Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran
Natural hazards	active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November)	frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Natural resources	arable land, fish	timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL]; Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Juan S. REYES]	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]
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 Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH
Population	84,546 (July 2007 est.)	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.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	50.7% (2004)
Population growth rate	2.461% (2007 est.)	2.091% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 1 (2005)	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 (2006)
Religions	Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)	Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.097 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.686 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.072 male(s)/female total population: 0.756 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)	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
Telephones - main lines in use	21,000 (2000)	708,400 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	20,500 (2004)	2.241 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (on Saipan; in addition, 2 cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (2006)	11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic	mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Total fertility rate	1.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.9% (2001)	27.8% (2007 est.)
Waterways	-	465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)

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