Honduras Location:
14°6'N, 87°13'W
Honduras Geography:
Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea on the north coast and the Pacific Ocean on the south through the Gulf of Fonseca. The climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the mountains. The central and southern regions are relatively hotter and less humid than the northern coast.
The Honduran territory consists mainly of mountains (~81%), but there are narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquitia region in the northeast, and the heavily populated lowland San Pedro Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO-world heritage site Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, with the Coco River which divides the country from Nicaragua.
Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, shrimp, and hydropower.
The Islas de la Bahía and the Swan Islands are part of Honduras. Misteriosa Bank and Rosario Bank, 130 to 150 km north of the Swan Islands, falls within the EEZ of Honduras.
Honduras People:
Population
- July 2006 estimate 7,326,4962 (96th)
- 2000 census 6,975,204
- Density 64 /km2 (128th)
166 /sq mi
Honduras Government:
Government Democratic constitutional republic
- President Manuel Zelaya
Honduras Economy:
Honduras is the poorest country in Central America and second poorest in the Western Hemisphere with GDP per capita at US$3,000 per year (2006).[5] The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized with average wages remaining very low. Economic growth in the last few years has averaged 5% a year, but 50% of the population still remain below the poverty line.[6] It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million people who are unemployed, the rate of unemployment standing at 27.9%.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund classify Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries eligible for debt relief, which was given in 2005.
Both the electricity services (ENEE) and land-line telephone services (HONDUTEL) have been operated by government agencies, with the ENEE receiving heavy subsidies because of chronic financial problems. HONDUTEL, however, is no longer a monopoly, the telecommunication sector having been opened to private-sector companies after December 25, 2005; this was one of the requirements before approving the beginning of CAFTA. There are price controls on petrol, and other temporary price controls for basic commodities are often passed for short periods by the Congress.
After years of declining against the U.S. dollar the Lempira has stabilized at around 19 Lempiras per dollar.
In 2005 Honduras signed the CAFTA (Free Trade Agreement with USA). In December 2005, Honduras' main seaport Puerto Cortes was included in the U.S. Container Security Initiative.[7]
On December 7, 2006, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (DOE) announced the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative, an unprecedented effort to build upon existing port security measures by enhancing the U.S. federal government’s ability to scan containers for nuclear and radiological materials overseas and to better assess the risk of inbound containers. The initial phase of Secure Freight involves the deployment of a combination of existing technology and proven nuclear detection devices to six foreign ports: Port Qasim in Pakistan; Puerto Cortes in Honduras; Southampton in the United Kingdom; Port Salalah in Oman; Port of Singapore; and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in Korea. Beginning in early 2007, containers from these ports will be scanned for radiation and information risk factors before they are allowed to depart for the United States.
Honduras More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras | 
