| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short form: Honduras |
| Capital: |
Tegucigalpa |
| 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 |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
15 00 N, 86 30 W |
| Area: |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than Tennessee |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
| Coastline: |
820 km |
| 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 |
| Climate: |
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
democratic constitutional republic |
| Administratives
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 |
| Independence |
15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
| Constitution: |
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
| 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 |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive
Branch: |
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 27 November 2005)
election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
| 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 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; 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 [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
6,975,204
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 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 19.15 years
male: 18.75 years
female: 19.56 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
| Ethnic groups: |
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
| Languages: |
Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
322,500 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
326,500 (2002) |
| 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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.hn |
| Internet hosts: |
1,944 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
168,600 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km
unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1)
registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
| Airports: |
115 (2004 est.) |
| 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 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 18
under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
