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NAVIGATION
Republic of Honduras
Republica de Honduras
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras |
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Government type:
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democratic constitutional republic |
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Capital:
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Tegucigalpa |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
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Constitution:
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11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
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Legal system:
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rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Raphael CALLEJAS] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
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International organization participation:
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BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville, and St. Louis consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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Flag description:
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three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue 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; 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 word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on containment of the recent rise in crime. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.1% (2001 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 18%
industry: 32% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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53% (1993 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 44% (1997) (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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59 (1997) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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9.7% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.3 million (1997 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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28% (2001 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
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Industries:
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sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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4% (1999 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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3.573 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 63% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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3.593 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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5 million kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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275 million kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
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Exports:
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$2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber |
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Exports - partners:
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US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium 5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico 4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$5.6 billion (2001) (2001) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$557.8 million (1999) (1999) |
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Currency:
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lempira (HNL) |
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Currency code:
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HNL |
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Exchange rates:
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lempiras per US dollar - 16.0256 (January 2002), 15.9197 (2001), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |