Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821.

After two and a 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 leftist guerrillas.

The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 7,483,763 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 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084) 15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 19.7 years male: 19.4 years female: 20.1 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.091% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female total population: 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.35 years male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.8% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 63,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran

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Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%

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Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%

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Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census)

Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program in February 2004. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, but in recent years has experienced a rapid rise in exports of light manufacturers. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $22.54 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $8.478 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,100 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13.6% industry: 31.4% services: 55% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 2.589 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 34% industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 27.9% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.6% highest 10%: 42.7% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 55 (1999)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 23.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.002 billion expenditures: $2.028 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 67.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

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Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

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Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (2003 est.)

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Electricity - production: 4.805 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 4.824 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 356 million kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 37,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$160 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $1.947 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber

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Exports - partners: US 70.3%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006)

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Imports: $4.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs

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Imports - partners: US 51.7%, Guatemala 6.8%, El Salvador 4.4%, Mexico 4.1%, Costa Rica 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.778 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $5.587 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $557.8 million (1999)

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Currency (code): lempira (HNL)

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Exchange rates: lempiras per US dollar - 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year