Honduras

• 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 freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams

party to :

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Desertification

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:

0.92 male(s)/female

total population :

1 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

total population :

68.81 years

male:

66.38 years

female:

71.37 years (1997 est.)

noun:

Honduran(s)

adjective:

Honduran

conventional long form :

Republic of Honduras

conventional short form:

Honduras

local long form:

Republica de Honduras

local short form:

Honduras

• 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) plus probable Central District (Tegucigalpa);
• 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

• rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law;
• some influence of English common law;
• accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

chief of state:

• President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994);
• First Vice President General (Ret.) Walter LOPEZ;
• Second Vice President Juan DE LA CRUZ Avelar;
• Third Vice President Guadeloupe JEREZANO;
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994) First Vice President General (Ret.) Walter LOPEZ;
• Second Vice President Juan DE LA CRUZ Avelar;
• Third Vice President Guadeloupe JEREZANO;
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 28 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997)

election results:

Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6%

• Liberal Party (PLH), Carlos FLORES Facusse, president;
• National Party of Honduras (PNH), Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, president;
• National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president;
• Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president

• National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH);
• Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP);
• Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH);
• National Union of Campesinos (UNC);
• General Workers Confederation (CGT);
• United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH);
• Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH);
• Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez

chancery:

3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 966-7702, 2604, 5008, 4596

chief of mission:

Ambassador James Francis CREAGAN (29 July 1996)

embassy :

Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa

mailing address:

American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa

telephone:

[504] 36-9320, 38-5114

• 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

• bananas, coffee, citrus;
• beef;
• timber;
• shrimp;

total value:

$2.401 billion (f.o.b., 1996)

commodities:

bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber

partners :

US 65%, Germany 7%, Japan 7%, Spain 3%, Belgium 2%

total value:

$3.133 billion (c.i.f. 1996)

commodities:

machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs

partners :

US 50%, Guatemala 5%, Japan 5%, Mexico 3%, El Salvador 3%

total:

595 km

narrow gauge:

• 190 km 1.067-m gauge;
• 128 km 1.057-m gauge;
• 277 km 0.914-m gauge

note: in 1993, there was a total of 988 km of track (1995)

total:

15,100 km

paved:

3,050 km

unpaved:

12,050 km (1995 est.)

• land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision;
• with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required;
• maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua

• transshipment point for drugs and narcotics;
• illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption HONG KONG (dependent territory of the UK)