Honduras
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Honduras is a country in northern Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the south west El Salvador, to the south east by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea. Belize (formerly "British Honduras") is 75 km away across the Bay of Honduras.
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| National motto: none1 | |||||
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| Official language | Spanish | ||||
| Capital | Tegucigalpa | ||||
| Capital's coordinates | Template:Coor dm | ||||
| President | Ricardo Maduro | ||||
| Area - Total | Ranked 101st 112,090 km? | ||||
| Population - Total (2000) | 96th 6,249,598 | ||||
| Independence - Declared | (from Spain) | ||||
| Currency | Lempira | ||||
| Time zone | UTC -6 | ||||
| National anthem | 'Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo' | ||||
| Internet TLD | .hn | ||||
| Calling Code | 504 | ||||
| 1 Although not an official motto is sanctioned, "NO PASARAN" or "They shall not pass" became popular during the 1969 war with El Salvador. This making allusion to the Salvadoran stated goal to reach the Honduran Caribbean coast during their offensive. | |||||
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History
Main article: History of Honduras
The Pre-Columbian city of [[Copᮝ] is a locale in extreme western Honduras, in the CopᮠDepartment, near to the Guatemalan border. It is the site of a major Maya kingdom of the Classic era. The kingdom, anciently named Xukpi (Corner-Bundle), flourished from the 5th century AD to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century AD. The Maya civilization decayed and by the time the Spanish came to Honduras the once great city-state of Copᮠwas overrun by the jungle.
After the Spanish discovery and subsequent conquest, Honduras became part of Spain's vast empire in the New World. The Spanish ruled Honduras for approximately 3 centuries.
Honduras became a state in the United Provinces of Central America in 1821, and an independent republic with the demise of the union in 1840.
The Football War of 1969 was fought with El Salvador.
After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was used by anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Nicaraguan government and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
Hurricane Mitch devastated the country and wrecked its economy in 1998.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Honduras
See also: President of Honduras
Departments
Main article: Departments of Honduras
Honduras is divided into 18 departments.
Geography
Honduras_sm04.png
Main article: Geography of Honduras
Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea with its north coast and the Pacific Ocean south, by the Gulf of Fonseca. The climate varies from tropical in lowlands to temperate in mountains. The central and southern regions are relatively less humid than the north coast.
Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains (80%), but there are narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquita region in the north east, and the heavily populated lowland San Pedro Sula valley in the north west.
Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, and hydropower.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Honduras
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the American hemisphere, with GDP per capita at $US2050 per year (1999).. Under the presidency of Ricardo Maduro the economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have classified Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries eligible for debt relief.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Honduras
The population of Honduras is predominantly of Mestizo descent and Roman Catholic faith.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Honduras
The patron saint of Honduras is the Virgin of Suyapa.
A Honduran can be called ta Catracho or Catracha. The word is derived from the last name of Honduran General Florencio Xatruch, who lead Honduran armed forces in the defense of Honduran territories in 1857, against an attempted invasion lead by North American pirate William Walker. The nickname is considered complimentary not derogatory.
One of Honduras' best known writers is Rammaya Amador.
Oscar Andres Rodriguez is a Cardinal who was a potential candidate for Pope in the Papal conclave, 2005.
Environment
The Mesoamerican region, the landmass that extends from Southern Mexico to Panama is known for its high diversity of species, and thus, often called a biodiversity hotspot. Like the rest of the countries in the region, Honduras contains a relatively high diversity of biological resources and indigenous cultures. For instance, it is believed that approximately 6,000-8,000 species of vascular plants are distributed across the country. The number of reptiles and amphibians species recorded so far is around 245; birds can be between 650-700 species, and mammal species are close to 110.
In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies the R�Plᴡno Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest which provides home to a great diversity of life. Sometimes called "The Last Lungs of Central America", this Reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982.
Miscellaneous topics
- List of Honduras-related topics
- Politics of Honduras
- President of Honduras
- List of political parties in Honduras
- Elections in Honduras
- Liberalism in Honduras
- Mara Salvatrucha
- Garifuna music
- Music of Honduras
- Communications in Honduras
- Transportation in Honduras
- Military of Honduras
- Foreign relations of Honduras
- Soccer War
- Flag of Honduras
Note: Some of these articles are based on text from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the U.S. Department of State website.
| Countries in North America |
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| 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 | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Greenland | Guadeloupe | Martinique | Montserrat | Navassa Island | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Saint-Pierre and Miquelon | Turks and Caicos Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands |