Honduras

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Honduras is a nation of northern Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala and El Salvador, to the south by Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea. The nation of Belize (formerly "British Honduras") is some 75 km away across the Bay of Honduras at the two nation's closest points.

RepÃÂºblica de Honduras\

	coat of arms
(In Detail)	(Full size)

National motto:

Official language

Spanish

Capital

Tegucigalpa

Capital's coordinates

14ÃÂ° 6' N, 87ÃÂ° 13' W

President

Ricardo Maduro

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 101th
112,090 kmÃÂ²
xx% / Negligible

Population
- Total (2000)
- Density

96th
6,249,598
xxx/km²

Independence
- Declared
- Recognised

(from Spain)
1821
1823

Currency

Lempira

Time zone

UTC -6 (DST, yes or not)

National anthem

Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo

Internet TLD

.HN

Calling Code

504

Table of contents

1 History
2 Politics
3 Departments
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Demographics
7 Culture
8 Miscellaneous topics

History

Main article: History of Honduras

Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became a state of the nation of Central America in 1821, and became an independent republic at the demise of the union in 1840.

After two and one-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 Nicaraguan government and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Honduras

Departments

Main article: Departments of Honduras

Honduras is divided into 18 departments:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Honduras

Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean. The climate varies from subtropical in lowlands to temperate in mountains.

Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains, but there are narrow plains along the coasts.

Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, and hydropower.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Honduras

Honduras spent 1999 primarily recovering from Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 5,000 people and caused about $3 billion in damage. Although it is slated to receive about $2.76 billion in international aid, the economy shrank 3% with widening current account and fiscal deficits in 1999. It nevertheless met most of its macroeconomic targets. Honduras may also get relief from its $4.4 billion external debt under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

Organization of American States (OAS)

	Countries in North America
Antigua and Barbuda \| Bahamas \| Barbados \| Belize \| Canada \| Costa Rica \| Cuba \| Dominica \| Dominican Republic \| El Salvador \| Grenada \| Guatemala \| Haiti \| Honduras \| Jamaica \| Mexico \| Nicaragua \| Panama \| Saint Kitts and Nevis \| Saint Lucia \| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines \| Trinidad and Tobago \| United States
Dependencies: Anguilla \| Aruba \| Bermuda \| Cayman Islands \| Greenland \| Guadeloupe \| Martinique \| Montserrat \| Netherlands Antilles \| Puerto Rico \| Saint-Pierre and Miquelon \| Turks and Caicos Islands \| U.S. Virgin Islands \| British Virgin Islands