Honduras
Honduras
International Environmental Issues
Honduras (formerly "Spanish Honduras") is a Central American nation between Guatemala (to the northeast) and Nicaragua (to the south) and bordering El Salvador to the southwest. Honduras' northern coast fronts the Caribbean Sea, whiles its much shorter southwestern coast fronts the Gulf of Fonseca on the North Pacific Ocean.
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Source: The CIA World Factbook
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| Figure 3. Satellite radar topography image of a portion of Central America. Due to persistent cloud cover, obtaining conventional high-altitude photos of this region is extrordinarily difficult. Radar's ability to penetrate clouds and make 3-D measurements allowed scientists to generate the first complete high-resolution topographic map of the entire region. All of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras are visible on this image, as well as a considerable portion of southern Mexico (the Yucatan Peninsula). Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/NGA. |
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| Figure 4. Shoreline view on Utila, the third largest of the Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahia). Source: CIA World Factbook |
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| Figure 5. The Mayan ruins of Copan. Source: CIA World Factbook |
Its main environmental issues include urban population expansion; 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; and mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals.
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.
Geography
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: 112,090 sq km (111,890 sq km of land, 200 sq km of water)
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39%
other: 95.56% (2005)
Capitol: TEGUCIGALPA: population 1 million (2009)
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles; contiguous zone to 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf to the natural extension of territory or to 200 nautical miles.
Natural Hazards: Frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast.
Terrain: Mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains.
Climate: Subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains.
The Human Development Index for Honduras is 0.683, which gives Honduras a rank of 117th out of 177 countries with data. See Honduras's Human Development Index for 2004
Ecology and Biodiversity
The region is a part of the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot because of the numerous plant and animal species that can be found there. The country hosts more than 6,000 species of vascular plants, of which 630 (described so far) are orchids; around 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 700 bird species, and 110 mammal species, half of them being bats. The Central American dry forests, Central American montane forests, and Central American pine-oak forests ecoregions extend through Honduras. The Northern Honduras mangroves extend along the Caribbean coast.
Terrestrial Ecoregions
Coastal-marine and marine ecoregions
Protected Areas
In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest which is home to a great diversity of life. The reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982.
International Environmental Agreements
Honduras is 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
People and Society
Population: 8,143,564 (July 2011 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 36.7% (male 1,528,271/female 1,464,428)15-64 years: 59.5% (male 2,431,607/female 2,412,951)65 years and over: 3.8% (male 136,035/female 170,272) (2011 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.888% (2011 est.)
Birthrate: 25.14 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 70.61 years (2011 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 3.09 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Literacy:
Urbanization: 52% of total population (2010) increasing at a 3.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Population below poverty line: 65% (2010)
Water
Access to improved drinking water:
Access to sanitation facilities:
Agriculture
Products: bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster
Economy
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 60% 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 Administration of José Manuel Zelaya 's economic mismanagement and the 2009 coup which removed him from office.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $33.63 billion (2010 est.)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $15.35 billion (2010 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 2.8% (2010 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $4,200 (2010 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 12.4%industry: 26.9%services: 60.8% (2010 est.)
Industries: sugar, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars
Natural Resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Currency: lempiras (HNL)
Further Reading
Return to Honduras's country profile
Return to the Latin America and the Caribbean Collection
Citation
Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, Central Intelligence Agency (Lead Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Honduras". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth June 29, 2009; Last revised Date December 31, 2011; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Honduras>
The Authors
A U.S.-based, international organization, Conservation International (CI) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
CI applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity in the biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity wilderness areas as well as important marine regions around the globe. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., CI works in more than 40 ... (Full Bio)
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. With nearly 1.2 million members in the U.S. and another 4 million worldwide, WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization. WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: 1) saving endangered ... (Full Bio)
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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