Honduras is a Central American country. Honduras is bathed by the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, bordering Nicaragua to the south and east, El Salvador to the southwest and Guatemala to the west. The country covers an area of 112 090 km2. The main cities are Tegucigalpa, the capital, with a population of 279 000 residents (2004), San Pedro Sula (470 500 residents), La Ceiba (122 800 residents), El Progresso (97 200 residents) And Choluteca ( 76 300 residents).
With more than 3/4 of the territory characterized by the presence of mountainous systems, Honduras has its flat areas located on the coast and in the river valleys that run through the country. There are four geographical regions: the lowlands of the East (which also comprise the area known as Costa do Mosquito); the northern coast, with a mountainous relief; the highlands of the Center, where the highest point of the country is located (2800 m); and the lowlands of the Pacific coast, located next to the Gulf of Fonseca.
Climate
The climate in Honduras is typically tropical, with high temperatures and rainfall levels, although the values are influenced by topographic characteristics.
Economy
Honduras is very dependent on the export of bananas, coffee, sugar, shrimp and timber. It is not surprising, therefore, that the primary sector is of paramount importance to the economy. The industrial fabric is composed of small companies that transform food products, beverages, textiles, chemicals, wood and paper. Despite having mineral resources (antimony, iron, mercury and copper) in considerable quantities, these are not properly exploited, with the exception of gold and silver. Honduras’ main trading partners are the United States of America, Germany, Japan and Spain.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is 0.8.
Population
In 2006, the population was 7 326 496 residents, which corresponded to a population density of 62.23 residents/km2. The birth and death rates are, respectively, 28.24% and 5.28%. Average life expectancy is 69.33 years. The value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.667 and the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) is 0.656 (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the population will be 9 345 000 residents. In the ethnic composition of Honduras, mestizos represent 90% of the population, followed by Amerindians (7%) and blacks and whites with (2%). Catholics make up 92% of the population. The official language is Castilian.
History
When Christopher Columbus arrived in Honduras in 1502, he found a territory marked by the presence of the Mayan civilization, and it was only in 1539, after a period of war against the Indians, that the Spaniards managed to secure control of the colony, which, from 1570, it came under the general administration of Guatemala (also a Spanish colony). With the discovery of vast silver reserves, Honduras began to be the target of attacks by pirates and the British, pushing the Spaniards inland, a constant situation until the 18th century, during which Spain undertook a territorial recovery culminated in 1779. For Honduras democracy and rights, please check localbusinessexplorer. Becoming independent from Spain in 1821, Honduras led the Union of Central American Provinces until 1838, the year in which they withdrew from that federation, proclaiming Honduras’ total independence on November 5 of that year. Three years later, conservative Francisco Ferrera was elected president of the Republic. Conservatives remained in power until 1876, when the liberal Marco Aurelio Soto was elected, who paved the way for the promulgation of a new constitution in which liberal principles were present.
With the turn of the century came the influence of Nicaragua on Honduran political life, the highlight of which was the election of Miguel Dávila as president of Honduras, which provoked a situation of instability that remained until 1932, the year in which the general was elected. Tiburcio Carías Andino, which, despite the sharp economic crisis caused by the export surpluses (which caused an explosion in unemployment levels) and the constant attempted coup d’etat, remained in power until 1949. Until 1963, Honduras lived a period of stability that allowed the development of its socioeconomic structures, a period interrupted by the military coup that brought Colonel Osvaldo López Arellano to power. Six years later, Honduras and El Salvador went to war over a football game (which Honduras had won), ending the fighting five days after it started with El Salvador’s military victory, which, however, withdrew from Honduran territory. Colonel Arellano remained in power until 1975, being replaced by Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro, who started a program of economic recovery with positive results. However, in 1978, General Policarpo Paz García led a bloody coup that overthrew Melgar Castro, while claiming to continue the policies of his predecessor. In 1979, Central America went through a period of strong instability caused by the civil wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador. And if, at first, Honduras did not get involved in such conflicts, the truth is that, after the election of the liberal Roberto Suazo Córdova, with his policy of approaching the United States, Honduran involvement gradually increased, allowing the guerrillas of those countries to establish bases in their territory, along their respective borders. As a result, external instability has affected daily life in Honduras, which has suffered reprisals from the governments of Nicaragua and El Salvador.
At the end of the 1980s, the country, already with José Azcona Hoyo as president, embraced a pacifist movement carried out by the countries of Central America, despite continuing to allow the use of its territory by the Contra of Nicaragua and the forces American supporters. Carlos Roberto Reina became president on January 27, 1994, succeeding Rafael Leonardo Callejas, elected in 1990. Since then, Carlos Reina has guided his policy (through preventive human rights measures) in the search for social stability that make it possible to proceed with economic programs that develop the country, such as, for example, the restructuring of the state administration on forests and the definition of the role of the private sector in this field.
Countryaah.com: Offers a full list of airports in the country of Honduras, sorted by city location and acronyms.
Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of Honduras. Listed by popularity.
1UpTravel.com – Maps of Honduras
Uncover a collection of city, country, political, and shaded relief maps of Honduras in Central America. View the Tegucigalpa city map, and a map of Swan Islands.
