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Honduras
Program Overview > Honduras

INTRODUCTION

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.

Note: Statistical information and copy in the Project Locations area of our website is drawn from the CIA World Factbook, 2010.

 

Honduras
OTHER INFORMATION >Honduras
Major Infectious Diseases:
Degree of Risk: high
Food or Waterborne Diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne Disease: dengue fever and malaria
Water Contact Diseases: leptospirosis
Median age:
Total: 20.3 years (2009 est.)
Male: 20 years (2009 est.)
Female: 20.7 years (2009 est.)
Nationality:
Adjective: Honduran
Noun: >Honduran(s)
Ethnic Group: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Population:
Total: 7,833,696
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate:
Growth Rate: 2.002% (2009 est.)
BIrth Rate: 26.28 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death Rate: 4.96 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Sex Ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth:
total population: 70.45 years
male: 68.76 years
female: 72.22 years (2009 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate: total: 21.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.53 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 3.27 children born/woman (2009 est.)

Honduras

AT A GLANCE
Honduras
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,514,544/female 1,451,862) (2009 est.)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 2,278,508/female 2,267,527) (2009 est.)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 125,991/female 154,422) (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS:
Adult Prevelence Rate: 0.7% (2007 est.)
People Living with HIV/AIDS: 28,000 (2007 est.)
Deaths: 1,900 (2007 est.)
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Population: total: 80%
male: 79.8%
female: 80.2% (2001 census)