Paraguay (2001) | Honduras (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and one capital city; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion (city), Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro | 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:
38.9% (male 1,133,306; female 1,097,360) 15-64 years: 56.39% (male 1,622,743; female 1,610,659) 65 years and over: 4.71% (male 124,321; female 145,750) (2001 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 | cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (yucca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 915 (2000 est.) | 115 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
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:
904 1,524 to 2,437 m: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 340 under 914 m: 535 (2000 est.) |
total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
Area | total:
406,750 sq km land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then. | 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 | 30.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.3 billion expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
Capital | Asuncion | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 820 km |
Constitution | promulgated 20 June 1992 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Paraguay conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | guarani (PYG) | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | 4.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $3 billion (2000 est.) | $5.4 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador David N. GREENLEE embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Leila RACHID chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Detroit (honorary), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (honorary) |
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 | - | 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 | $NA | $557.8 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. The informal sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97, but GDP declined slightly in 1998 and 1999. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. Growth rebounded slightly in 2000. | 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 | 1.915 billion kWh (1999) | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 46.03 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 308 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 51.554 billion kWh (1999) | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.07% hydro: 99.79% nuclear: 0% other: 0.15% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 50.2%
hydro: 49.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation (an estimated 2 million hectares of forest land were lost from 1958-85); water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
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 | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | guarani per US dollar - 3,570.0 (January 2001), 3,486.4 (2000), 3,119.1 (1999), 2,726.5 (1998), 2,177.9 (1997), 2,056.8 (1996); note - since early 1998, the exchange rate has operated as a managed float; prior to that, the exchange rate was determined freely in the market | lempiras per US dollar - 16.43 (2002), 15.47 (2001), 14.84 (2000), 14.21 (1999), 13.39 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Luis GONZALEZ MACCHI (since 28 March 1999); vice president Julio Cesar FRANCO (since NA August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Luis GONZALEZ MACCHI (since 28 March 1999); vice president Julio Cesar FRANCO (since NA August 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Raul CUBAS Grau elected president; percent of vote - 55.3%; resigned 28 March 1999 note: President Luis GONZALEZ MACCHI, formerly president of the Chamber of Senators, constitutionally succeeded President Raul CUBAS Grau, who resigned after being impeached soon after the assassination of Vice President Luis Maria ARGANA; the successor to ARGANA was decided in an election held in August 2000 |
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 | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | electricity, soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) |
Exports - partners | Brazil, Argentina, EU | US 69.5%, El Salvador 3%, Guatemala 2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles) | 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 - $26.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16.29 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
28% industry: 21% services: 51% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 32% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,750 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 S, 58 00 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total:
25,901 km paved: 3,067 km unpaved: 22,834 km (2001) |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.7% highest 10%: 46.6% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in South America; transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Southern Cone markets 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 | $3.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | Brazil, US, Argentina, Uruguay, EU, Hong Kong | US 55.3%, El Salvador 4.3%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 14 May 1811 (from Spain) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0% (2000 est.) | 4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | 29.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 8% (2000 est.) | 7.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 4 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1993 est.) | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Counsel of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 2 million (2000 est.) | 2.3 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 45% | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,920 km border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 55% forests and woodland: 32% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice | 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 Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003); Chamber of Deputies - last held 10 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 25, PLRA 13, PEN 7; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Colorado Party 45, PLRA 26, PEN 9 |
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:
73.92 years male: 71.44 years female: 76.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.65 years
male: 65.31 years female: 68.06 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.1% male: 93.5% female: 90.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central South America, northeast of Argentina | 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 | South America | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,066 GRT/35,441 DWT ships by type: cargo 14, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
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 branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $125 million (FY98) | $35 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY98) | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,388,436 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,594,266 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,001,516 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 948,957 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
58,359 (2001 est.) |
males: 74,895 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 14 May (1811) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Paraguayan(s) adjective: Paraguayan |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Authentic Radical Liberal Party or PLRA [Miguel Abdon SAGUIER]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adalina GUITERREZ DE GALEANO]; Febrerista Revolutionary Party or PRF [Carlos Maria LJUBETIC]; National Encounter or PEN [Euclides ACEVEDO]; National Republican Association - Colorado Party [acting president Bader RACHID LICHI] | 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 | Ahorristas Estafados or AE; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT | 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 | 5,734,139 (July 2001 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 | 36% (2000 est.) | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 2.32% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Radios | 925,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
971 km standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 60 km 1.000-m gauge note: there are 470 km of various gauges that are privately owned |
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite, and other Protestant | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 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 and compulsory up to age 75 | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 290,475 (2001) | 234,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 510,000 (2001) | 14,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2001) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.11 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 28% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 3,100 km | 465 km (navigable by small craft) |