Honduras





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.

                                       National motto:
                                       Official
                                       language          Spanish
                                       Capital           Tegucigalpa
                                       Capital's         14¡ 6' N, 87¡ 13'
History                                coordinates       W
                                       President         Ricardo Maduro
                                       Area              Ranked 101th
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New Ê- Total          112,090 km2
World, Honduras became a state of the  Ê- % water        xx% / Negligible
nation of Central America in 1821, and Population        96th
became an independent republic at the  Ê- Total (2000)   6,249,598
demise of the union in 1840.           Ê- Density        xxx/km²
                                       Independence      (from Spain)
After two and one-half decades of      Ê- Declared       1821
mostly military rule, a freely elected Ê- Recognised     1823
civilian government came to power in
1982. During the 1980s, Honduras       Currency          Lempira
proved a haven for anti-Sandinista
contras fighting the Nicaraguan        Time zone         UTC -6 (DST, yes
                                                         or not)
government and an ally to Salvadoran
government forces fighting against     National anthem   Tu bandera es un
leftist guerrillas.                                      lampo de cielo
                                       Internet TLD      .HN
Politics                               Calling Code      504

Departments

Honduras is divided into 18 departments:

   * Atl‡ntida
   * Choluteca
   * Col--n
   * Comayagua
   * Cop‡n
   * CortŽs
   * El Para'so
   * Francisco Moraz‡n
   * Gracias a Dios
   * Intibuc‡
   * Islas de la Bah'a
   * La Paz
   * Lempira
   * Ocotepeque
   * Olancho
   * Santa B‡rbara
   * Valle
   * Yoro

Geography

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

Economy

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.

Demographics

The population of Honduras is predominantly of Mestizo decent and Roman
Catholic faith.