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During the first millennium, Honduras was inhabited by the Maya. Columbus explored the country in 1502. Honduras, with four other Central American nations, declared its independence from Spain in 1821 to form a federation of Central American states. In 1838, Honduras left the federation and became independent. Political unrest rocked Honduras in the early 1900s, resulting in an occupation by U.S. Marines. Dictator Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino established a strong government in 1932.

In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras after Honduran landowners deported several thousand Salvadorans. Five thousand people ultimately died in what is called “the football war” because it broke out during a soccer game between the two countries. By threatening economic sanctions and military intervention, the Organization of American States (OAS) induced El Salva

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Honduras, like all other countries that were Spanish colonies, used the shields (coat-of-arms) of Spain, but once the country became independent, these shields were no longer necessary. Dionisio de Herrera, as the Head of the State of Honduras, decreed the creation of a national shield on October 3, 1825.

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Honduras is a Central American country with Caribbean Sea coastlines to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. In the tropical rainforest near Guatemala, the ancient Mayan ceremonial site Copán has stone-carved hieroglyphics and stelae, tall stone monuments. In the Caribbean Sea are the Bay Islands, a diving destination that's part of the 1,000km-long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

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The rose was the National Flower during 1946-1969, but considering that roses were not native to Honduras, the Legislative Decree # 17 dated January 12, 1946 was replaced by the National Congress in Tegucigalpa on November 25, 1969. Considering that the Orchid (Brassavola Digbiana) is a flower native to Honduras with exceptional beauty, vigor and distinctive characteristics, it was decreed to declare the National Flower of the Republic of Honduras as the orchid. Also at the same time, the government implemented pertinent measures to ensure its conservation and to the areas in which it grows, and to control its commercialization, cultivation and to teach scientific knowledge regarding orchids in local schools.

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The government established the Pine tree as a national symbol through accord # 429 emitted in Tegucigalpa on May 14, 1926. This accord was designed to establish protective measures to conserve and improve the existing resources throughout the country. The pine tree (pinus oocarpa or pino ocote) exemplifies the national flora, and it is considered to be one of the resources known to Hondurans throughout the nation since it is abundant and its products are used in many ways.

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As a measure designed to protect our national fauna, and above all to halt the ongoing uncontrolled depravation, the National Congress of the Republic of Honduras emitted Decree # 36-93, dated June 28, 1993, which instituted the national symbol of Honduran fauna as the White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus).

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Country of Honduras News, Sports, Tourism, Food, Diving, Vacation - Honduras.com

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The country of Honduras is brimming with clear turquoise waters, pristine beaches, lush jungles, breathtaking mountains, and challenging rivers...

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The national bird of Honduras is the Scarlet Macaw.  It was decreed a national symbol of Honduras on 28 June 1993

by the National Congress of Honduras as a way to raise awareness of the varied avifauna of Honduras.  Despite being the national bird of Honduras the Scarlet Macaw, which is called La Guara Roja in Spanish and has Ara macao as a scientific name, is rare in the country and vulnerable to poaching, which is widespread.  In fact, all of the images ofScarlet Macaws in this post are of the birds that live at Copan Archeological Park, birds that were seized at the border before they could be illegally exported.*  If it weren’t such a horrible thing to do one might almost understand why folks would want to poach and cage Scarlet Macaws.  Their plumage is simply amazing and the colors are astounding.

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The baleada is one of the most common street foods in Honduras. The basic style is made of a flour tortillawhich is folded and filled with refried beans, quesillo or cheese and sour cream. Many people add roasted meat, avocado, plantains or scrambled eggs as well.

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Central America and Caribbean :: HONDURAS

Introduction :: HONDURAS

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.

Geography :: HONDURAS

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

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly larger than Tennessee

Area comparison map:

border countries (3): Guatemala 244 km, El Salvador 391 km, Nicaragua 940 km

823 km (Caribbean Sea 669 km, Gulf of Fonseca 163 km)

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

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

arable land 9.1%; permanent crops 4%; permanent pasture 15.7%

most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula; the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area

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

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

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

People and Society :: HONDURAS

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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2017 est.)

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

Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 41%, atheist 1%, other 2%, none 9% (2014 est.)

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has one of the world's highest murder rates. 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.

0-14 years: 32.95% (male 1,521,300/female 1,456,727)

15-24 years: 21% (male 968,013/female 930,060)

25-54 years: 36.63% (male 1,675,574/female 1,635,241)

55-64 years: 5.13% (male 218,342/female 245,447)

65 years and over: 4.29% (male 167,957/female 220,080) (2017 est.)

population pyramid:

total dependency ratio: 59.8

youth dependency ratio: 52.7

elderly dependency ratio: 7.1

potential support ratio: 14.2 (2015 est.)

female: 23.3 years (2017 est.)

22.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula; the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area

urban population: 57.1% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 2.75% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

TEGUCIGALPA (capital) 1.363 million; San Pedro Sula 851,000 (2018)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

note: median age a first birth among women 25-29 (2011/12 est.)

129 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

total: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

total population: 71.2 years

female: 72.9 years (2017 est.)

2.67 children born/woman (2017 est.)

0.7 beds/1,000 population (2014)

urban: 97.4% of population

rural: 83.8% of population

total: 91.2% of population

urban: 2.6% of population

rural: 16.2% of population

total: 8.8% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 86.7% of population

rural: 77.7% of population

total: 82.6% of population

urban: 13.3% of population

rural: 22.3% of population

total: 17.4% of population (2015 est.)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

female: 88.9% (2015 est.)

female: 25.6% (2015 est.)

Government :: HONDURAS

conventional long form: Republic of Honduras

conventional short form: Honduras

local long form: Republica de Honduras

local short form: Honduras

etymology: the name means "depths" in Spanish and refers to the deep anchorage in the northern Bay of Trujillo

geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W

time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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)

several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times, last in 2012; note - in 2015 and 2016, successive rulings by the Honduran Supreme Court struck down several constitutional articles on presidential term limits (2018)

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 1 to 3 years

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Maria RIVERA, and Olga ALVARADO (since 26 January 2018); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Rossana GUEVARA, and Lorena HERRERA (since 27 January 2014)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president

elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 4-year term; election last held on 26 November 2017 (next to be held in November 2021); note - in 2015, the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court struck down the constitutional provisions on presidential term limits

election results: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president; percent of vote Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza Opositora) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other .9%

description: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 27 November 2017 (next to be held on 28 November 2021)

election results: percent of vote by party - PNH 47.7%, LIBRE 23.4%, PL 20.3%, PINU 3.1%, DC 0.8%, PAC 0.8%, UD 0.8%, other 3.1%; seats by party - PNH 61, LIBRE 30, PL 26, AP 4, PINU 4, DC 1, PAC 1, UD 1

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges - including the court president - and 7 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor chambers); note - the court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction

judge selection and term of office: court president elected by his peers; judges elected by the National Congress from candidates proposed by the Nominating Board, a diverse 7-member group of judicial officials, and other government and non-government officials selected by each of their organizations; judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year terms

subordinate courts: courts of appeal; courts of first instance; peace courts

Alliance against the Dictatorship or Alianza Opositora [Salvador NASRALLA] (electoral coalition)

Anti-Corruption Party or PAC [Marlene ALVARENGA]

Christian Democratic Party or DC [Felicito AVILA Ordonez]

Democratic Unification Party or UD [Cesar HAM]

Freedom and Refoundation Party or LIBRE [Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales]

Honduran Patriotic Alliance or AP [Romeo VASQUEZ Velasquez]

Liberal Party or PL [Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano]

National Party of Honduras or PNH [Reinaldo SANCHEZ Rivera]

Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Guillermo VALLE]

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Marlon Ramsses TABORA Munoz (since 24 April 2017)

chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604

consulate(s): Dallas, McAllen (TX)

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Heide B. FULTON (since June 2017)

embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa

mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa

telephone: [504] 2236-9320, 2238-5114

three equal horizontal bands of cerulean blue (top), white, and cerulean blue, with five cerulean, 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

note: 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 words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

scarlet macaw, white-tailed deer; national colors: blue, white

name: "Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)

lyrics/music: Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING

note: adopted 1915; the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history; on official occasions, only the chorus and last verse are sung

Economy :: HONDURAS

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.

Honduras's economy depends heavily on US trade and remittances. The US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement 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 15% of foreign direct investment is from US firms.

The economy registered modest economic growth of 3.1%-4.0% from 2010 to 2017, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 65% of the population in poverty. In 2017, Honduras faced rising public debt, but its economy has performed better than expected due to low oil prices and improved investor confidence. Honduras signed a three-year standby arrangement with the IMF in December 2014, aimed at easing Honduras's poor fiscal position.

$45.68 billion (2017 est.)

$43.92 billion (2016 est.)

$42.39 billion (2015 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

$22.68 billion (2017 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

household consumption: 78%

government consumption: 14.9%

investment in fixed capital: 22.3%

investment in inventories: 1.2%

exports of goods and services: 42.5%

imports of goods and services: -58.9% (2017 est.)

services: 57.8% (2017 est.)

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

sugar processing, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars

3.735 million (2017 est.)

services: 39.8% (2005 est.)

note: about one-third of the people are underemployed

highest 10%: 38.4% (2014 est.)

expenditures: $5.086 billion (2017 est.)

6.25% (31 December 2010 est.)

19.7% (31 December 2017 est.)

19.33% (31 December 2016 est.)

$2.729 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$2.455 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$9.334 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$8.602 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$13.72 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$12.65 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$-917 million (2017 est.)

$-811 million (2016 est.)

$8.173 billion (2017 est.)

$7.841 billion (2016 est.)

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

US 36.7%, Germany 10.7%, El Salvador 8.6%, Guatemala 6.5%, Netherlands 5.4%, Nicaragua 5.3% (2016)

$10.87 billion (2017 est.)

$10.56 billion (2016 est.)

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

US 32.8%, China 14.1%, Guatemala 8.9%, Mexico 7.3%, El Salvador 5.7% (2016)

$4.46 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$3.814 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$9.025 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$7.852 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

lempiras (HNL) per US dollar -

Energy :: HONDURAS

population without electricity: 900,000

electrification - total population: 82%

electrification - urban areas: 97%

electrification - rural areas: 66% (2013)

8.367 billion kWh (2015 est.)

7.215 billion kWh (2015 est.)

536 million kWh (2015 est.)

679 million kWh (2015 est.)

2.499 million kW (2015 est.)

45.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

25.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

32% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 est.)

52,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

13,160 bbl/day (2014 est.)

64,820 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

10 million Mt (2013 est.)

Communications :: HONDURAS

total subscriptions: 442,929

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5 (July 2016 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 87 (July 2016 est.)

general assessment: fixed-line connections are increasing but still limited; competition among multiple providers of mobile-cellular services is contributing to a sharp increase in subscribership

domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed lines in order to expand telephone coverage contributing to a small increase in fixed-line teledensity; mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 90 per 100 persons

international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber-optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System (2016)

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)

percent of population: 30.0% (July 2016 est.)

Transportation :: HONDURAS

number of registered air carriers: 5

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 10

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 251,149

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 502,372 mt-km (2015)

narrow gauge: 164 km 1.067-m gauge; 115 km 1.057-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2014)

unpaved: 11,375 km (1,543 km summer only)

note: an additional 8,951 km of non-official roads used by the coffee industry (2012)

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

by type: container ship 1, general cargo 250, oil tanker 90, other 211 (2017)

major seaport(s): La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela

Military and Security :: HONDURAS

Honduran Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, FFAA): Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2018)

18 years of age for voluntary 2- to 3-year military service; no conscription (2018)

Transnational Issues :: HONDURAS

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

IDPs: 190,000 (violence, extortion, threats, forced recruitment by urban gangs) (2017)

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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The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) is the single point of contact for all inquiries about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). We read every letter, fax, or e-mail we receive, and we will convey your comments to CIA officials outside OPA as appropriate.