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NAVIGATION
Republic of Honduras
Republica de Honduras
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. 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 Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
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Geographic coordinates:
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15 00 N, 86 30 W |
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Map references:
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Central America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than Tennessee |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
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Coastline:
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820 km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
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Climate:
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subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
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Natural resources:
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timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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760 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Geography - note:
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has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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6,560,608
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 41.8% (male 1,400,778; female 1,340,834)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,774,619; female 1,806,568) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 112,100; female 125,709) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.34% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 68.77 years
female: 70.51 years (2002 est.) male: 67.11 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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4.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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1.92% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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63,000 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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4,200 (1999 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
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Ethnic groups:
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mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
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Languages:
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Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74% male: 74% female: 74.1% (1999) |