Honduras

• most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country;
• unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula;
• the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area

noun:

Honduran(s)

adjective:

Honduran

total:

25.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

24.8 years

female:

26.6 years

• most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country;
• unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula;
• the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.77 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

15.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

17.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

13.2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

73.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

69.6 years

female:

76.8 years

total:

2.73 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

women married by age 15:

9.2%

women married by age 18:

34%

men married by age 18:

10% (2019 est.)

• 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

urban population:

60.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.48% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

18.93 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

9.81 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

7.72 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

320 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

111 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

1.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Honduras

conventional short form:

Honduras

local long form:

República de Honduras

local short form:

Honduras

etymology:

the name means "depths" in Spanish and refers to the deep anchorage in the northern Bay of Trujillo

name:

• Tegucigalpa;
• note - article eight of the Honduran constitution states that the twin cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela, jointly, constitute the capital of the Republic of Honduras;
• however, virtually all governmental institutions are on the Tegucigalpa side, which in practical terms makes Tegucigalpa the capital

geographic coordinates:

14 06 N, 87 13 W

time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

etymology:

while most sources agree that Tegucigalpa is of Nahuatl derivation, there is no consensus on its original meaning

• 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

history:

several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

amendments:

• proposed by the National Congress with at least two-thirds majority vote of the membership;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Congress in its next annual session;
• constitutional articles, such as the form of government, national sovereignty, the presidential term, and the procedure for amending the constitution, cannot be amended;
• amended several times, last in 2021

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

1 to 3 years

chief of state:

President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)

head of government:

President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term;
• election last held on 28 November 2021 (next to be held on 30 November 2025);
• note - in 2015, the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court struck down the constitutional provisions on presidential term limits

election results:

• 2021: Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya elected president;
• percent of vote - Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (LIBRE) 51.1%, Nasry Juan ASFURA Zablah (PNH) 36.9%, Yani Benjamin ROSENTHAL Hidalgo (PL) 10%, other 2%

;

• 2017: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president;
• percent of vote - Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza de Oposicion contra la Dictadura) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other 0.9%

note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

description:

unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members directly elected in 18 multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 28 November 2021 (next to be held on 30 November 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - LIBRE 39.8%, PNH 31.3%, PL 16.4%, PSH 10.9%, DC 0.8%, PAC 0.8%;
• seats by party - LIBRE 51, PNH 40, PL 21, PSH 14, DC 1, PAC 1;
• composition - men 93, women 35, percentage women 27.3%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges, including the court president, and 6 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor chambers);
• note - the court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction

judge selection and term of office:

• court president elected by his peers;
• judges elected by the National Congress from candidates proposed by the Nominating Board, a diverse 7-member group of judicial officials and other government and non-government officials nominated by each of their organizations;
• judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year terms

subordinate courts:

• courts of appeal;
• courts of first instance;
• justices of the peace

• Anti-Corruption Party or PAC
• Christian Democratic Party or DC
• Democratic Liberation of Honduras or Liderh
• Democratic Unification Party or UD
• The Front or El Frente
• Honduran Patriotic Alliance or AP
• Innovation and Unity Party or PINU
• Liberal Party or PL
• Liberty and Refoundation Party or LIBRE
• National Party of Honduras or PNH
• New Route or NR
• Opposition Alliance against the Dictatorship or Alianza de Oposicion contra la Dictadura (electoral coalition)
• Savior Party of Honduras or PSH
• Vamos or Let’s Go
• We Are All Honduras (Todos Somos Honduras) or TSH

chief of mission:

Ambassador Laura F. DOGU (since 12 April 2022)

embassy:

Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa M.D.C.

mailing address:

3480 Tegucigalpa Place, Washington DC 20521-3480

telephone:

[504] 2236-9320,

FAX:

[504] 2236-9037

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://hn.usembassy.gov/

name:

"Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)

lyrics/music:

Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING

note: adopted 1915; the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history; on official occasions, only the chorus and last verse are sung

total World Heritage Sites:

2 (1 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Maya Site of Copan (c); Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (n)

• second-fastest-growing Central American economy;
• COVID-19 and two hurricanes crippled activity;
• high poverty and inequality;
• declining-but-still-high violent crime disruption;
• systemic corruption;
• coffee and banana exporter;
• enormous remittances

total:

11% (2023 est.)

male:

7.5% (2023 est.)

female:

17% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

31.6% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

4.9% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.2% (2019 est.)

highest 10%:

34.6% (2019 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

consumption:

190,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

190,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

20 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

67,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

general assessment:

• Honduras is among the poorest countries in Central America and has long been plagued by an unstable political framework which has rendered telecom sector reform difficult;
• this has created real difficulties for telcos as well as consumers;
• fixed-line teledensity, at only 4.9%, is significantly lower than the Latin American and Caribbean average;
• poor fixed-line infrastructure has been exacerbated by low investment and topographical difficulties which have made investment in rural areas unattractive or uneconomical;
• the internet has been slow to develop;
• DSL and cable modem technologies are available but are relatively expensive, while higher speed services are largely restricted to the major urban centers;
• the demand for broadband is steadily increasing and there has been some investment in network upgrades to fiber-based infrastructure

(2022)

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity of 5 per 100; mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 74 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 504;
• landing points for both the ARCOS and the MAYA-1 fiber-optic submarine cable systems that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• connected to Central American Microwave System (2019)

• multiple privately owned terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by multiple cable TV networks;
• Radio Honduras is the lone government-owned radio network;
• roughly 300 privately owned radio stations (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

4 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 26

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

251,149 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

450,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

699 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

164 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge; 115 km 1.057-mm gauge; 420 km 0.914-mm gauge

total:

14,742 km

paved:

3,367 km

unpaved:

11,375 km (2012) (1,543 km summer only)

note: an additional 8,951 km of non-official roads used by the coffee industry

total ports:

8 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

0

small:

1

very small:

7

ports with oil terminals:

3

key ports:

Coxen Hole, La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, Puerto de Hencan, Puerto Este, Tela, Trujillo

• 18-22 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women;
• 24-36 month service obligation;
• no conscription (2024)

note: as of 2023, women made up about 9% of the active duty military