1983 Edition

Agriculture

main crops — bananas, coffee, corn, beans, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco

Aid

economic commitments — US, including Ex-Im (FY70-82), $379 million loans; other Western (non-US) countries, ODA and ODF (1970-81), $243 million; military— assistance from US (FY79-82), $63 million

Airfields

202 total, 190 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Area

109,560 km2; 36% waste and built on; 30% pasture; 27% forest; 7% crop

Branches

constitution provides for elected President, unicameral legislature (82member National Congress), and national judicial branch

Armed Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force

Budget

(1982) revenues $382 million, expenditures $668 million

Capital

Tegucigalpa

Civil air

9 major transport aircraft

Coastline

820 km People

Communists

up to 1,500; Honduran leftist groups — Communist Party of Honduras (PCH), Communist Party of Honduras/ MarxistLeninist (PCH/ML), Morazanist Front for the Liberation of Honduras (FMLH), People's Revolutionary Union/ Popular Liberation Movement (URP/MPL), Popular Revolutionary Forces-Lorenzo Zelaya (FPR), Socialist Party of Honduras (PASO), and Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PRTC)

Elections

national election for president and legislature held every four years; last election held 29 November 1981; legislature chosen by proportional representation; 282 municipal councils Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH) — party president, Romualdo Bueso Peflalba; faction leaders, Robert Suazo Cordova (Rodista faction), Jorge Bueso Arias (ALIPO faction); National Party (PNH)— party president, Juan Melgar Castro; faction leaders, Ricardo Zuniga Augustinus (Zufliga faction), Mario Rivera Lopez (MUC faction); National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Miguel Andonie Fernandez; Honduran Christian Party (PDCH), Alfredo Landaverde

Electric power

248,000 kW capacity (1983); 815 million kWh produced (1983), 190 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

90% mestizo (mixed Indian and European), 7% Indian, 2% black, 1% white

Exports

$684 million (f.o.b., 1982); bananas, coffee, lumber, meat, petroleum products

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

Fishing

catch 6,409 metric tons (1980)

Government leader

Dr. Roberto SUAZO Cordova, President

Highways

8,950 km total; 1,700 km paved, 5,000 km otherwise improved, 2,250 km unimproved earth

Imports

$681 million (f.o.b., 1982); manufactured products, machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, petroleum

Inland waterways

465 km navigable by small craft

Labor force

over 1 million (1982); 58.9% agriculture, 12.7% manufacturing, 12.2% other services, 8.3% commercial services, 3.4% construction, 2.9% transport and communications, 0.9% financial sector, 0.3% mining; approx. 20% unemployed; est. 60% underemployed

Land boundaries

1,530km Water

Language

Spanish, Indian dialects

Legal system

based on Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; new constitution became effective in January 1982; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; legal education at University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200

Literacy

47%

Major industries

agricultural processing, textiles, clothing, wood products Honduras (continued) Hong Kong

Major trade partners

exports — 61% US, 13% FRG, 10% CACM, (1980); imports— 42% US, 10% Venezuela, 10% CACM, 10% Japan, 3% FRG (1980)

Member of

CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE— InterAmerican Development BAnk, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO Economy GDP; $2.8 billion (1982), $710 per capita; 72% private consumption, 13% government consumption, 16% domestic investment; — 1% net foreign balance (1982); real growth rate, average 1975-80, 6.2%; real growth rate 1982, -1.2%

Military manpower

males 15-49, 968,000; 577,000 fit for military service; about 48,000 reach military age (18) annually

Monetary conversion rate

2 lempiras= US$1 (4 January 1984)

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September

Nationality

noun — Honduran(s); adjective — Honduran

Official name

Republic of Honduras

Organized labor

40% of urban labor force, 20% of rural work force (1981) Government

Other political or pressure groups

National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH), Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), ProDevelopment Association of Honduras (APROH), Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), National Union of Campesinos (UNC), General Workers Confederation (CGT), United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH)

Political subdivisions

18 departments

Population

4,424,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.4%

Ports

2 major (Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo), 6 minor

Railroads

1,207 km total; 444 km 1.067meter gauge, 763 km 0.914-meter gauge

Religion

about 97% Roman Catholic; small Protestant minority

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age

Telecommunications

improved, but still inadequate; connection into Central American microwave net; 27,400 telephones (1.0 per lOOpopl.); 129 AM, 32 FM, and 7 TV stations; Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station Defense Forces

Type

republic

Voting strength

(1981 election) 1.2 million out of 1.5 million eligible voters cast ballots; PLH 54%, PNH 42%, PINU 2.4%, PDCH 1.6%, legislative seats— PLH 44, PNH 34, PINU 3, PDCH 1