uses Italian system
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1996)
Televisions: NA
Internet country code: .va
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 93 (Holy See and Italy) (2000)
Internet users: NA
Holy See (Vatican City) Transportation
Railways: total: 862 m; note - a spur of the Italian Railways system, serving Rome's Saint Peter's station
standard gauge: 862 m 1.435-m gauge (1999)
Highways: none; all city streets
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: none
Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)
Holy See (Vatican City) Military
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and protect the Pope
Holy See (Vatican City) Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
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@Honduras
Honduras Introduction
Background: Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. 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 Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
Honduras Geography
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 14% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 740 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
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; severe Hurricane Mitch damage
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Honduras People
Population: 6,406,052
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684)
15–64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003)
65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.43% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: −2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.51
