[504] 236–9037
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
Honduras Economy
Economy - overview: Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 31.9%
services: 51.9% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.1% (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 2.3 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 50% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.)
Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.319 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 44.71%
hydro: 55.29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 3.232 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 145 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp
Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber
Exports - partners: US 35.4%, Germany 7.5%, El Salvador 6.4%,
Guatemala 5.8%, Nicaragua 4.8% (1999)
Imports: $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: US 47.1%, Guatemala 7.4%, El Salvador 5.9%,
Mexico 4.8%, Japan 4.7% (1999)
Debt - external: $5.4 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $557.8 million (1999)
Currency: lempira (HNL)
Currency code: HNL
Exchange rates: lempiras per US dollar - 15.1407 (December 2000), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Honduras Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 234,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 14,427 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Radio broadcast stations: AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)
Radios: 2.45 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 570,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .hn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)
Internet users: 20,000 (2000)
Honduras Transportation
Railways: total: 595 km
narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999)
Highways: total: 15,400 km
paved: 3,126 km
unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 465 km (navigable by small craft)
Ports and harbors: La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San
Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira
Merchant marine: total: 313 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 760,819 GRT/820,582 DWT
ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 187, chemical tanker 7, container 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Russia 4, Singapore 2, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 119 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914
