Honduras ( Republica de Honduras) is a country in Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salv. Honduras geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 86 30 W; area 200 sq km; area comparative slightly larger than Tennessee; land boundaries Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km; coastline 820 km; maritime claims na; climate subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains; terrain mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains; elevation extremes Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m; natural resources timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower; land use 87.23% (2001); irrigated land 760 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods a; environment current issues 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; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast;

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Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. government type democratic constitutional republic; capital Tegucigalpa; administrative divisions 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; independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain); national holiday Independence Day, 15 September (1821); constitution 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995; legal system 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; suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory;

people

Honduras population 6,975,204 estimates for this country explicit; age structure 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.); median age 19.56 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.16% (2005 est.); birth rate 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 32.84 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 66.59 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 1.8% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 63,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 4,100 (2003 est.); nationality Honduran; ethnic groups mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%; religions Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%; languages Spanish, Amerindian dialects; literacy 76.3% (2003 est.);

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