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Honduras – Country Profile and General Information

The Republic of Honduras is located in Central America and its coastline is the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Fonseca.
It is surrounded by Guatemala on the northern border, Nicaragua on the south and El Salvador on the east, and has 820 km of coastline. The country is covered 80% by mountains and forests and the coastlines are very narrow plains.

The country has an abundance of fresh water in the form of several major rivers, the most important of which is the Ulúa which passes through the Sula Valley through the Caribbean.

In addition, the country has several islands in the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Fonseca in the Pacific, the largest island is Roatán in the Caribbean Sea.

General Data of Honduras

Honduras Political Division

See Geography of Honduras

Its political and administrative division consists of 18 departments, 298 municipalities, 3,731 Villages and 30,591 hamlets.

Seaports

Airports

History of Honduras

Climate of Honduras

See Climate of Honduras

The mountainous interior is much cooler than the coast. Tegucigalpa, at an altitude of 990 m., Has a temperate climate, with temperatures ranging between 25 and 14 ° C in January to 30 and 18 ° C in May. The coastal lands are much wetter and warmer, and the plain of the Gulf of Fonseca is hot.

December and January are the coolest months. The precipitations also vary according to the zones.

In Tegucigalpa, the rainy season normally runs from May to October, with a dry season from November to April that affects the entire country. In the months of September and October it rains almost uninterruptedly, and floods are very frequent.

Starting in November, the rhythm and frequency of rainfall is drastically reduced throughout the country, except on the north coast and the Bay Islands, where the rains last for several more weeks.

Living Culture: Ethnicities of Honduras

See Ethnicities of Honduras

Honduras is a multiethnic and multicultural country. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics of Honduras, as of 2013 the indigenous population reached 717,618 inhabitants, representing 8.6% of the total, including indigenous peoples and Afro-Antilleans.

There are nine culturally distinct peoples, identified as Mayan-Chortí, Lenca, Misquitos, Nahuas, Pesh, Tolupanes, Tawahkas, Garífunas, and Afro-Antilleans. The official language is Spanish, spoken by almost the entire population.

In Islas de la Bahía the use of English is widespread for historical reasons. Most of the population profess the Catholic religion (47%). Evangelical churches, especially from the United States and South America, are increasing their presence in the country (41% of the population).

Official Currency of Honduras

See History of Currency in Honduras

The official currency of Honduras is the Lempira (L), its name is due to the hero and chieftain Lempira who fought against the Spanish conquest in 1537.

Banknotes are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 Lempiras. 5, 10, 20 and 50
cent coins are also used in a lesser way .

The exchange rate is one US dollar 24.1980 lempiras and one euro 29.2796 lempiras (as of September 4, 2018).

To see the exchange rate check the official site of the Central Bank of Honduras

Although the lempira is the currency of current use, it can also be operated in dollars, especially for large purchases.

Social Indicators in Honduras

The population of Honduras is approximately 9,038,741 inhabitants, with a population growth rate of around 1.7%.

60.9% of the population lives below the poverty line and 38.4% in conditions of extreme poverty. 11.1% of the population is illiterate.

It is a lower-middle-income country with a GDP per capita of US $ 2,465 US $ 8 and with a notable inequality in the distribution of wealth
(Gini index 0.51)

In June 2016, 60.9% of Honduran households are in poverty, since their income is below the cost of a basic consumption basket that includes food and other goods and services. Although poverty is more serious in rural areas, it also affects more than half of the households in urban areas (59.4% urban and 62.9% rural).

Malnutrition has a high impact on children under 5 years of age: 23% of this population suffers from chronic malnutrition.

Most live in the western and southern regions of the country. In this region, access to land is very limited, food production is low, natural resources are degraded, and water is polluted.

Regarding access to drinking water, Honduras registers coverage of 91%, while sanitation coverage stands at 82.6%.

In general, inequality at the territorial, social, and political levels becomes the main obstacle to human development in Honduras.

In the particular case of inequality between men and women, this is reflected through the gender inequality index (0.48), which places Honduras in 10611. The main socioeconomic indicators of ethnic and Afro-descendant groups are below of the national average.

Citizen insecurity has been a serious problem in Honduras. Violence rates reached their highest point in 2011, registering 7,104 violent deaths and raising the homicide rate to a rate of 86.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants (pccmh), which placed Honduras as the most violent country of the world in that year.

However, as of 2012 the homicide rate began to decline, reaching 42.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and a total of 3,791 homicides in 2017. Violence in the country can respond, among other causes, to the high levels of impunity (65.1%, according to the Global Impunity Index in 2017), easy access to weapons, the presence of gangs and the growing pressure of drug trafficking.
Young people between 15 and 44 years old, especially men, are the population group that most severely suffers from the effects of this violence.

Honduras politics

See Honduras Policy

Honduras is a democratic and unitary Republic, of a presidential character. Presidential terms are 4 years. The current Constitution dates from 1982, and has undergone numerous reforms in recent years.

Several articles of the Honduran Constitution of 1982 prohibited the reelection of the president, although a judgment of the Supreme Court of April 22, 2015 declared them inapplicable, opening the door to reelection.

The National Congress is made up of 128 deputies elected through a proportional system by direct popular vote.

Honduras is divided into the 18 departments mentioned above, each with a governor appointed by the President. The departments are divided into 298 municipalities, in turn organized into towns and villages.

Honduras Character Biographies

Heroes

Writers

Highlights

Culture of Honduras