Honduras

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. Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998, killing about 5,600 people and causing approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded, despite COVID-19 and severe storm-related setbacks in 2020 and 2021.

Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua

15 00 N, 86 30 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly larger than Tennessee

823 km (Caribbean Sea 669 km; Gulf of Fonseca 163 km)

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower

900 sq km (2012)

most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; Honduras is the only Central American nation 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

frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and European) 90%, Indigenous 7%, African descent 2%, White 1%

Evangelical 55%, Roman Catholic 33.4%, none 10.1%, unspecified 1.5% (2023 est.)

1.28% (2025 est.)

19.7 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-2.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; Honduras is the only Central American nation 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

1.568 million TEGUCIGALPA (capital), 982,000 San Pedro Sula (2023)

20.3 years (2011/12 est.)

47 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.29 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.13 (2025 est.)

0.49 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

0.7 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

21.4% (2016)

7.1% (2019 est.)

54.4% (2019 est.)

deforestation from logging and agricultural clearing; land degradation and soil erosion from overdevelopment and improper land use practices; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) and other rivers and streams

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

19.1 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

92.164 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

18 departments (<em>departamentos</em>, singular - <em>departamento</em>); Atlántida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazán, Gracias a Dios, Intibucá, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

civil law system

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

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

ACS, BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNHRC, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

<strong>description:</strong> three equal horizontal bands of cerulean blue (top), white, and cerulean blue, with five five-pointed cerulean stars arranged in an "X" pattern and centered in the white band<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; blue stands for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and white for the land and the people's peace and prosperity

scarlet macaw, white-tailed deer

blue, white

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

$37.094 billion (2024 est.)

sugarcane, oil palm fruit, maize, milk, bananas, coffee, cantaloupes/melons, oranges, chicken, beans (2023)

sugar processing, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, cigars

0.8% (2024 est.)

4.296 million (2024 est.)

64.1% (2023 est.)

15.1% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

USA 49%, Nicaragua 8%, El Salvador 7%, Guatemala 5%, Mexico 5% (2023)

garments, coffee, insulated wire, palm oil, shellfish (2023)

USA 36%, China 14%, Guatemala 8%, Mexico 6%, El Salvador 6% (2023)

refined petroleum, cotton yarn, garments, trucks, packaged medicine (2023)

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

.hn

HR

129 (2025)

6 (2025)

Honduran Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, FFAA): Army (Ejercito), Honduran Naval Force (Fuerza Naval Hondurena, FNH; includes marines), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH), Honduran Military Police of Public Order (Policía Militar del Orden Público or PMOP) (2025)

approximately 15,000 active Honduran Armed Forces (2025)

the FFAA's inventory is comprised of a mix of older or secondhand and limited amounts of more modern equipment; its main supplier is the US; other suppliers include Colombia, Israel, the Netherlands, and the UK (2025)

18-22 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 24&ndash;36 month service obligation; no conscription (2026)

the Honduran Armed Forces (FFAA) are responsible for maintaining the country’s territory, defending its sovereignty, providing emergency/humanitarian assistance, and supporting the National Police (PNH); the FFAA’s primary focus is internal and border security, and since 2011 a considerable portion of it has been deployed to support the PNH in combating narcotics trafficking and organized crime; military support to domestic security included the creation of the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) in 2013 to provide security in areas controlled by street gangs to combat crime and make arrests; the FFAA, including the PMOP, cooperates with the militaries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua on border security<br><br>the FFAA has received military equipment, training, humanitarian, and technical assistance from the US military; the US military maintains a joint service task force co-located with the FFAA at Soto Cano Air Base (2025)

La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)