Wayzata World Factbook 1995/World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso/mac/text/Build/CIATXTpc/HONDURAS.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-29 | 13KB | 405 lines

                                 Honduras




                                 Geography


Location:
     Middle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones
     of the World
Area:
total area:
     112,090 sq km
land area:
     111,890 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
     total 1,520 km, Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline:
     820 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
continental shelf:
     200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September
     1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; ICJ referred the
     maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca to an earlier agreement in
     this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El
     Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate:
     subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain:
     mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Natural resources:
     timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal,
     fish
Land use:
arable land:
     14%
permanent crops:
     2%
meadows and pastures:
     30%
forest and woodland:
     34%
other:
     20%
Irrigated land:
     900 sq km (1989 est.)




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
     freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams
natural hazards:
     subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging
     hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
     Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
     Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber


                                  People


Population:
     5,314,794 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.73% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     34.97 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.22 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     45.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     67.6 years
male:
     65.23 years
female:
     70.08 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     4.71 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Honduran(s)
adjective:
     Honduran
Ethnic divisions:
     mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority
Languages:
     Spanish, Indian dialects
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     73%




male:
     76%
female:
     71%
Labor force:
     1.3 million
by occupation:
     agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%,
     other 6% (1985)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Honduras
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica de Honduras
local short form:
Digraph:
     HO
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Tegucigalpa
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
Independence:
     15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
     11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
Legal system:
     rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English
     common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994);
     election last held on 28 November 1993 (next to be held November
     1997); results - Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo
     RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6%
cabinet:
     Cabinet
Legislative branch:
     unicameral




National Congress (Congreso Nacional):
     elections last held on 27 November 1993 (next to be held November
     1997); results - PNH 53%, PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other
     2.5%; seats - (134 total) PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Political parties and leaders:
     Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA Ponce, president; National Party
     (PN) has two factions: Movimiento Nacional de Reivindication
     Callejista (Monarca), Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS, and Oswaldista,
     Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, presidential candidate; National Innovation and
     Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president; Christian Democratic
     Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president
Other political or pressure groups:
     National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH); Honduran Council
     of Private Enterprise (COHEP); Confederation of Honduran Workers
     (CTH); National Union of Campesinos (UNC); General Workers
     Confederation (CGT); United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH);
     Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH);
     Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)
Member of:
     BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA,
     IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES,
     LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
     UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Rene Arturo BENDANA
chancery:
     3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     [phone], 2604, 5008, 4596
FAX:
     [phone]
consulate(s) general:
     Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San
     Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s):
     Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador William PRYCE
embassy:
     Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa
mailing address:
     American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
telephone:
     [504] 32-3120
FAX:
     [504] 32-0027




Flag:
     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


                                  Economy


Overview:
     Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
     Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for
     more than 25% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces
     two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Industry, still in
     its early stages, employs nearly 9% of the labor force, accounts for
     15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service sectors,
     including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and employ 20%
     of the labor force. Basic problems facing the economy include rapid
     population growth, high unemployment, a lack of basic services, a
     large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export
     sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price
     fluctuations. A far-reaching reform program initiated by former
     President CALLEJAS in 1990 is beginning to take hold. In 1993 the
     large fiscal deficit emerged as a key economic problem, the result of
     improvident state spending.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $10 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     3.7% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $1,950 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     13% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     10%; underemployed 30%-40% (1992)
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.4 billion
expenditures:
     $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $511 million (1990
     est.)
Exports:
     $850 million (f.o.b., 1993 est)
commodities:
     bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber
partners:
     US 53%, Germany 11%, Belgium 8%, UK 5%
Imports:
     $1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1993 est)




commodities:
     machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured
     goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs
partners:
     US 50%, Mexico 8%, Guatemala 6%
External debt:
     $2.8 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 0.8% (1990 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     575,000 kW
production:
     2 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     390 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood
     products
Agriculture:
     most important sector, accounting for more than 25% of GDP, more than
     60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal products
     include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp; importer
     of wheat
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment point for cocaine; illicit producer of cannabis,
     cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1
     billion
Currency:
     1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
     lempiras (L) per US$1 - 7.2600 (December 1993), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300
     (1992), 5.4000 (1991); 2.0000 (fixed rate until 1991) 5.70 parallel
     black-market rate (November 1990); the lempira was allowed to float in
     1992
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge
Highways:
total:
     8,950 km
paved:
     1,700 km
unpaved:
     otherwise improved 5,000 km; unimproved earth 2,250 km
Inland waterways:
     465 km navigable by small craft




Ports:
     Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo
Merchant marine:
     270 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 831,856 GRT/1,248,186 DWT, bulk
     25, cargo 177, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 1, container 7,
     liquified gas 1, oil tanker 22, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 2,
     refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger
     2, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1
note:
     a flag of convenience registry; Russia owns 14 ships under the
     Honduran flag
Airports:
total:
     160
usable:
     133
with permanent-surface runways:
     11
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     4
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     14
Telecommunications:
     inadequate system with only 7 telephones per 1,000 persons;
     international services provided by 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
     stations and the Central American microwave radio relay system;
     broadcast stations - 176 AM, no FM, 7 SW, 28 TV


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces
     (FUSEP)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,229,777; fit for military service 732,866; reach
     military age (18) annually 60,445 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $42.8 million, about 1.3% of GDP (1993
     est.)