Honduras

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

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Tegucigalpa	850,848	Capital
San Pedro Sula	801,259
La Ceiba	222,055
Choloma	139,100
El Progreso	100,810
Ciudad Choluteca	75,872
Comayagua	58,784
Puerto Cortez	48,013
La Lima	45,955
Danlí	44,799

Size

• 43,278 square miles
• 112,090 square kilometers
• slightly larger than Tennessee

History

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. Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998, killing about 5,600 people and causing approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded, despite COVID-19 and severe storm-related setbacks in 2020 and 2021.

Climate

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Languages

Spanish (official), Amerindian dialectsmajor-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Evangelical 55%, Roman Catholic 33.4%, none 10.1%, unspecified 1.5% (2023 est.)

Government

presidential republic

• Constitution: history: several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982amendment process: proposed by the National Congress with at least two-thirds majority vote of the membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Congress in its next annual session; constitutional articles, such as the form of government, national sovereignty, the presidential term, and the procedure for amending the constitution, cannot be amended
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
• Legal System: civil law system
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)head of government: President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by presidentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 4-year termmost recent election date: 28 November 2021election results: 2021: Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya elected president; percent of vote - Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (LIBRE) 51.1%, Nasry Juan ASFURA Zablah (PNH) 36.9%, Yani Benjamin ROSENTHAL Hidalgo (PL) 10%, other 2%2017: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza de Oposicion contra la Dictadura) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other 0.9%expected date of next election: 30 November 2025note: the president is both chief of state and head of government
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges, including the court president, and 6 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor chambers)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 nominated by each of their organizations; judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year termssubordinate courts: courts of appeal; courts of first instance; justices of the peacenote: the Supreme Court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: National Congress (Congreso Nacional)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 128 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 11/28/2021parties elected and seats per party: Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE) (50); National Party (PN) (44); Liberal Party (PL) (22); Salvador de Honduras Party (PSH) (10); Other (2)percentage of women in chamber: 27.3%expected date of next election: November 2025

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• second-fastest-growing Central American economy; COVID-19 and two hurricanes crippled activity; high poverty and inequality; declining-but-still-high violent crime disruption; systemic corruption; coffee and banana exporter; enormous remittances
• Budget: revenues: $5.333 billion (2020 est.)expenditures: $6.391 billion (2020 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
• Industries: sugar processing, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars
• Agricultural Products: sugarcane, oil palm fruit, maize, milk, bananas, coffee, cantaloupes/melons, oranges, chicken, beans (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 32% (2022 est.)arable land: 9.1% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 5.4% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 17.5% (2022 est.)forest: 56.5% (2022 est.)other: 11.6% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, cotton yarn, garments, trucks, packaged medicine (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: USA 36%, China 14%, Guatemala 8%, Mexico 6%, El Salvador 6% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: garments, coffee, insulated wire, palm oil, shellfish (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: USA 49%, Nicaragua 8%, El Salvador 7%, Guatemala 5%, Mexico 5% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports