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 .HN - Honduras
Registration · Transfer · Renewal
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Payable by
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Special Requirements:
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Anyone can register .FHN
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1 Year at 149.95
2 Years required
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Background: |
Once part of Spain's vast
empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821.
After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected
civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras
proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan
Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist
guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which
killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.
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Location: |
Central America, bordering the
Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of
Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
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Geographic coordinates: |
15 00 N, 86 30 W |
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Map references: |
Central America and the
Caribbean |
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Area: |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than Tennessee
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Land boundaries: |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km,
Nicaragua 922 km |
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Coastline: |
820 km |
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200
nm |
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Climate: |
subtropical in lowlands,
temperate in mountains |
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Terrain: |
mostly mountains in interior,
narrow coastal plains |
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean
Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
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Natural resources: |
timber, gold, silver, copper,
lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
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Land use: |
arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21%
other: 87.26% (2005) |
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Irrigated land: |
760 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards: |
frequent, but generally mild,
earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along
the Caribbean coast |
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Environment - current issues: |
urban population expanding;
deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for
agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened
by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as
farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the
country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and
streams, with heavy metals |
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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 |
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Geography - note: |
has only a short Pacific coast
but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited
eastern Mosquito Coast |
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Population: |
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.) |
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Age structure: |
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.) |
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Median age: |
total: 19.5 years
male: 19.1 years
female: 19.8 years (2006 est.)
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Population growth rate: |
2.16% (2006 est.) |
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Birth rate: |
28.24 births/1,000 population
(2006 est.) |
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Death rate: |
5.28 deaths/1,000 population
(2006 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
-1.39 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2006 est.) |
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Sex ratio: |
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.) |
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Infant mortality rate: |
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.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 69.33
years
male: 67.75 years
female: 70.98 years (2006
est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
3.59 children born/woman (2006
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
1.8% (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
63,000 (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
4,100 (2003 est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
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Ethnic groups: |
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and
European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
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Religions: |
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant
3% |
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Languages: |
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 76.2%
male: 76.1%
female: 76.3% (2003 est.)
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Country name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short
form: Honduras |
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Government type: |
democratic constitutional
republic |
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Capital: |
Tegucigalpa |
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Administrative divisions: |
18 departments (departamentos,
singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan,
Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de
la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
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Independence: |
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
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National holiday: |
Independence Day, 15 September
(1821) |
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Constitution: |
11 January 1982, effective 20
January 1982; amended 1995 |
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Legal system: |
rooted in Roman and Spanish
civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial
reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral
adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal and
compulsory |
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Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); First Vice
President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS (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 (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
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% |
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Legislative branch: |
unicameral National Congress or
Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the
number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to
be held November 2009)
election results: percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2 |
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court of Justice or
Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the
National Congress) |
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Political parties and leaders: |
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] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
Committee for the Defense of
Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or
CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General
Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or
COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National
Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of
Honduran Workers or CUTH |
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International organization participation: |
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, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Norman GARCIA Paz
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 |
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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
FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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Flag description: |
three equal horizontal bands of
blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in
an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members
of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El
Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA
DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also
similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by
the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom,
centered in the white band |
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Economy - overview: |
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. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$20.21 billion (2005 est.)
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GDP (official exchange rate): |
$7.842 billion (2005 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate: |
4% (2005 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$2,800 (2005 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 31.2%
services: 56.1% (2005 est.) |
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Labor force: |
2.54 million (2005 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 34%, industry 21%,
services 45% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate: |
28% (2005 est.) |
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Population below poverty line: |
53% (1993 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
55 (1999) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
9.2% (2005 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
27% of GDP (2005 est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $1.693 billion
expenditures: $1.938 billion; including capital expenditures of
$106 million (2005 est.) |
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Public debt: |
70.5% of GDP (2005 est.) |
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Agriculture - products: |
bananas, coffee, citrus; beef;
timber; shrimp |
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Industries: |
sugar, coffee, textiles,
clothing, wood products |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
7.7% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production: |
4.338 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 50.2%
hydro: 49.8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption: |
4.369 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - imports: |
335 million kWh (2003) |
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Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
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Oil - consumption: |
37,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
NA bbl/day |
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Oil - imports: |
NA bbl/day |
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Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
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Current account balance: |
$-456 million (2005 est.)
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Exports: |
$1.726 billion f.o.b. (2005
est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold,
palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
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Exports - partners: |
US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%,
Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) |
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Imports: |
$4.161 billion f.o.b. (2005
est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transport
equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
(2000) |
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Imports - partners: |
US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%,
Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$2.23 billion (2005 est.)
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Debt - external: |
$4.675 billion (2005 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$557.8 million (1999) |
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Currency (code): |
lempira (HNL) |
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Currency code: |
HNL |
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Exchange rates: |
lempiras per US dollar - 18.92
(2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001) |
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
390,100 (2004) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
707,200 (2004) |
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Telephone system: |
general assessment:
inadequate system
domestic: NA
international:
country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12
(1998) |
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Radios: |
2.45 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
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Televisions: |
570,000 (1997) |
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Internet country code: |
.hn |
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Internet hosts: |
4,763 (2005) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
8 (2000) |
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Internet users: |
223,000 (2005) |
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Airports: |
116 (2005) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
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 (2005) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 105
1,524
to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 84
(2005) |
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Railways: |
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004)
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Roadways: |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km
unpaved: 10,828 km (1999) |
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Waterways: |
465 km (most navigable only by
small craft) (2005) |
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Merchant marine: |
total: 131 ships (1000
GRT or over) 356,805 GRT/518,767 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9,
cargo 66, chemical tanker 6, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock
carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 27,
refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 43 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 3, Hong
Kong 2, Indonesia 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Mexico
1, Singapore 12, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, US 2, Vietnam 1) (2005)
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Ports and terminals: |
Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes,
San Lorenzo, Tela |
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Military branches: |
Army, Navy (includes Naval
Infantry), Air Force |
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Military service age and obligation: |
18 years of age for voluntary
two-three year military service (2004) |
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Manpower available for military service: |
males age 18-49:
1,448,369 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 18-49: 955,019
(2005 est.) |
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Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males: 77,399 (2005
est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
$52.8 million (2005 est.)
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.55% (2005 est.)
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| Transnational Issues |
Honduras |
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Disputes - international: |
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 |
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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 |
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