Tonga (2005) | Honduras (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u | 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: 36.2% (male 20,738/female 19,907)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 33,226/female 33,853) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,031/female 2,667) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.9% (male 1,491,170/female 1,429,816)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 2,076,727/female 2,077,975) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 113,747/female 137,061) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 6 (2004 est.) | 116 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 105
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 84 (2006) |
Area | total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900. Tonga acquired its independence in 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It remains the only monarchy in the Pacific. | 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 | 25.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 28.24 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $1.693 billion
expenditures: $1.938 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Nuku'alofa | 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 new dates become effective in 2007 |
Climate | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 419 km | 820 km |
Constitution | 4 November 1875; revised 1 January 1967 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Death rate | 5.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.28 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $63.4 million (2001) | $5.795 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga | 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 Fekitamoeloa 'UTOIKAMANU
chancery: 250 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (917) 369-1025 FAX: [1] (917) 369-1024 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
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 | in 1992, International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite Organization of American States (OAS) intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; 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 Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | Australia $5.5 million, New Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02) | $557.8 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Tonga, a small, open, South Pacific island economy, has a narrow export base in agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. Tourism is the second largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances. The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. High unemployment among the young, a continuing upturn in inflation, and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government. | Honduras, 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. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, on continued exports of non-traditional agricultural products (such as melons, chiles, tilapia, and shrimp), and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 23.06 million kWh (2002) | 4.369 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 335 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 24.79 million kWh (2002) | 4.338 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations | 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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | pa'anga per US dollar - 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000) | lempiras per US dollar - 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965)
head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA (since 3 January 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister James C. COCKER (since NA January 2001) cabinet: cabinet consists of 16 members, 12 appointed by the monarch for life; 4 appointed from among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly including 2 each from the Nobles and Peoples representatives serving three year terms note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch, the Cabinet, and two governors elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed for life by the monarch |
chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); First Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); Third Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); First Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); Third Vice President (vacant) 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 November 2009) election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (PL) elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa (PN) 46.1%, other 4.1% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
Exports - partners | Japan 37.1%, China 18.7%, US 17.7%, Taiwan 8.7%, New Zealand 7.4% (2004) | US 73.2%, Guatemala 2.9%, El Salvador 2.9% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner | 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: 23%
industry: 13% services: 64% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 13.9%
industry: 31.2% services: 54.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 4.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 175 00 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited) | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total: 680 km
paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 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 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 | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | New Zealand 37.1%, Fiji 24.3%, Australia 9.1%, China 8.9%, US 6.3% (2004) | US 53.1%, Guatemala 6.5%, El Salvador 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (FY98/99) | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, fishing | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 25.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.3% (2002 est.) | 8.8% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | BCIE, CACM, 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), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 800 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (consists of the Privy Council with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 33,910 (1996) | 2.54 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) | 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: 23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06% other: 33.33% (2001) |
arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
Languages | Tongan, English | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | based on English 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 Assembly or Fale Alea (30 seats - 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote - HRDMT 70%; seats - HRDMT 7, independents 2 |
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 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: 69.53 years
male: 67.05 years female: 72.14 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 69.33 years
male: 67.75 years female: 70.98 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.9% male: 98.8% female: 99% (1996 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | 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 continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 136,977 GRT/200,751 DWT
by type: cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 7 (Cyprus 1, France 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Romania 2, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
total: 136 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,984 GRT/557,179 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 61, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 43 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 3, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Qatar 1, Singapore 11, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Tonga Defense Services: Ground Forces (Royal Marines, Royal Guard), Maritime Force (includes Air Wing) | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $52.8 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.55% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | fish, fertile soil | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no political parties | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Saul ESCOBAR Andrade]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Gilberto GOLDSTEIN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman] | 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 | 112,422 (July 2005 est.) | 7,326,496
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.98% (2005 est.) | 2.16% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Nuku'alofa | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) | 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 (2005) |
Religions | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: competition between Tonga Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Shoreline Communications Tonga (SCT) is accelerating expansion of telecommunications; SCT recently granted authority to develop high-speed digital service for telephone, Internet, and television
domestic: fully automatic switched network international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004) |
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,200 (2002) | 494,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,000 (2004) | 1.282 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2004) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.59 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.3% (1996 est.) | 28% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2005) |