Honduras is a nation of northern Central America, bordered to the north by Guatemala and El Salvador, to the south by Nicaragua, to the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea. The nation of Belize (formerly "British Honduras") is some 75 km away across the Bay of Honduras at the two nation's closest points.
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National motto: | |||||
Official language | Spanish | ||||
Capital | Tegucigalpa | ||||
Capital's coordinates | 14° 6' N, 87° 13' W | ||||
President | Ricardo Maduro | ||||
Area - Total - % water | Ranked 101th
112,090 km² xx% / Negligible | ||||
Population
- Total (2000) - Density | 96th
6,249,598 xxx/km² | ||||
Independence
- Declared - Recognised | (from Spain)
1821 1823 | ||||
Currency | Lempira | ||||
Time zone | UTC -6 (DST, yes or not) | ||||
National anthem | Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo | ||||
Internet TLD | .HN | ||||
Calling Code | 504 |
Table of contents |
2 Politics 3 Departments 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics |
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became a state of the nation of Central America in 1821, and became an independent republic at the demise of the union in 1840.
After two and one-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 Nicaraguan government and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
Honduras is divided into 18 departments:
Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean. The climate varies from subtropical in lowlands to temperate in mountains.
Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains, but there are narrow plains along the coasts.
Natural resources include: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Honduras spent 1999 primarily recovering from Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 5,000 people and caused about $3 billion in damage. Although it is slated to receive about $2.76 billion in international aid, the economy shrank 3% with widening current account and fiscal deficits in 1999. It nevertheless met most of its macroeconomic targets. Honduras may also get relief from its $4.4 billion external debt under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
The population of Honduras is predominantly of Mestizo decent and Roman Catholic faith.
History
Main article: History of HondurasPolitics
Main article: Politics of HondurasDepartments
Main article: Departments of HondurasGeography
Main article: Geography of HondurasEconomy
Main article: Economy of HondurasDemographics
Main article: Demographics of HondurasCulture
Main article: Culture of HondurasMiscellaneous topics
Note: Some of these articles are based on text from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the U.S. Department of State website.