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. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded.

Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua

slightly larger than Tennessee

Caribbean Sea 669 km; Gulf of Fonseca 163 km

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower

frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

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

has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%

Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has the world's highest murder rate. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Poverty rates are higher among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north and central areas where most of Honduras' industries and infrastructure are concentrated. The increased productivity needed to break Honduras' persistent high poverty rate depends, in part, on further improvements in educational attainment. Although primary-school enrollment is near 100%, educational quality is poor, the drop-out rate and grade repetition remain high, and teacher and school accountability is low.

Honduras' population growth rate has slowed since the 1990s, but it remains high at nearly 2% annually because the birth rate averages approximately three children per woman and more among rural, indigenous, and poor women. Consequently, Honduras' young adult population - ages 15 to 29 - is projected to continue growing rapidly for the next three decades and then stabilize or slowly shrink. Population growth and limited job prospects outside of agriculture will continue to drive emigration. Remittances represent about a fifth of GDP.

8,296,693 (July 2012 est.)

24.66 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

5.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

TEGUCIGALPA (capital) 1 million (2009)

100 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

3.01 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.57 physicians/1,000 population (2000)

0.8 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 80% of population

rural: 62% of population

total: 71% of population

urban: 20% of population

rural: 38% of population

total: 29% of population

democratic constitutional republic

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

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members elected proportionally by department to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)

Anti-Corruption Party or PAC [Salvador NASRALLA]; Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA Ordonez]; Broad Political Electoral Front in Resistance or FAPER [Andres PAVON]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Freedom and Refounding Party or LIBRE [Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales]; Liberal Party or PL [Bill SANTOS Brito]; National Party or PN [Ricardo ALVAREZ]; Social Democratic Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge Rafael AGUILAR Paredes]

Beverage and Related Industries Syndicate or STIBYS; 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; United Farm Workers' Movement of the Aguan (MUCA)

BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (suspended), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water and the peace and prosperity of its people

scarlet macaw; white-tailed deer

Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, as well as high underemployment. While historically dependent on the export of bananas and coffee, Honduras has diversified its export base to include apparel and automobile wire harnessing. Nearly half of Honduras's economic activity is directly tied to the US, with exports to the US accounting for 30% of GDP and remittances for another 20%. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) came into force in 2006 and has helped foster foreign direct investment, but physical and political insecurity, as well as crime and perceptions of corruption, may deter potential investors; about 70% of FDI is from US firms. The economy registered sluggish economic growth in 2010, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 65% of the population in poverty. The LOBO administration inherited a difficult fiscal position with off-budget debts accrued in previous administrations and government salaries nearly equivalent to tax collections. His government has displayed a commitment to improving tax collection and cutting expenditures, and attracting foreign investment. This enabled Tegucigalpa to secure an IMF Precautionary Stand-By agreement in October 2010. The IMF agreement has helped renew multilateral and bilateral donor confidence in Honduras following the ZELAYA administration's economic mismanagement and the 2009 coup.

$37.67 billion (2012 est.)

$36.28 billion (2011 est.)

$35.01 billion (2010 est.)

$18.18 billion (2012 est.)

3.44 million (2012 est.)

26.6% of GDP (2012 est.)

18.4% of GDP (2012 est.)

-3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)

34.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

32.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

6.25% (31 December 2010 est.)

NA% (31 December 2009 est.)

17.8% (31 December 2012 est.)

18.56% (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.476 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.182 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$9.112 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$8.127 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$9.403 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$8.383 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster

-$1.661 billion (2012 est.)

-$1.503 billion (2011 est.)

$6.946 billion (2012 est.)

$7.204 billion (2011 est.)

apparel, coffee, shrimp, automobile wire harnesses, cigars, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber

US 33.1%, Germany 10.9%, El Salvador 7.3%, Belgium 6.5%, Guatemala 6.2% (2011)

$10.66 billion (2012 est.)

$10.34 billion (2011 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs

US 46%, Guatemala 8.8%, Mexico 5.7%, El Salvador 5.4%, China 4.1%, Costa Rica 4% (2011)

$3.15 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.785 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.884 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.564 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

lempiras (HNL) per US dollar -

6.326 billion kWh (2009 est.)

4.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)

46 million kWh (2009 est.)

100,000 kWh (2009 est.)

1.697 million kW (2009 est.)

63.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

30.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

5.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

58,150 bbl/day (2011 est.)

8,419 bbl/day (2008 est.)

54,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

8.288 million Mt (2010 est.)

8.062 million (2011)

multiple privately-owned terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by multiple cable TV networks; Radio Honduras is the lone government-owned radio network; roughly 300 privately-owned radio stations (2007)

465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2012)

La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela

Honduran Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, FFAA): Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2012)

18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3 year military service (2004)

0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; 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 the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum

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