Data at glance of Honduras - average on period

variable 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2007 2008-2009 2010-2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
real gdp growth 2.88 3.23 5.04 0.65 2.38 12.56 4.14 3.58 3.6 3.3
CPI % 7.92 18.51 8.23 5.1 4.52 4.48 9.09 6.66 4.61 4.74
Unemployment rate 6.5 3.67 4.27 3.71 5.82 8.57 8.9 8.08 8.01 8.0
Debt/GDP % 236.54 86.56 49.69 22.8 38.39 51.03 48.69 44.94 42.62 43.05
Current account balance/GDP % -3.86 -4.35 -6.97 -4.48 -4.87 -5.5 -6.74 -3.9 -4.64 -4.29

Data derived from World Economic Outlook Database. To see main macroeconomic indicator in graphs click here

History

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. Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998, killing about 5,600 people and causing approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded, despite COVID-19 and severe storm-related setbacks in 2020 and 2021.

Environment

Area: 112,090 km2

Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and European) 90%, Indigenous 7%, African descent 2%, White 1%

Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian dialectsmajor-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Evangelical 55%, Roman Catholic 33.4%, none 10.1%, unspecified 1.5% (2023 est.)

Government

Capital: Tegucigalpa

Government type: presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)

Head of government: President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by presidentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 4-year termmost recent election date: 28 November 2021election results: 2021: Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya elected president; percent of vote - Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (LIBRE) 51.1%, Nasry Juan ASFURA Zablah (PNH) 36.9%, Yani Benjamin ROSENTHAL Hidalgo (PL) 10%, other 2%2017: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza de Oposicion contra la Dictadura) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other 0.9%expected date of next election: 30 November 2025note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: National Congress (Congreso Nacional)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 128 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 11/28/2021parties elected and seats per party: Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE) (50); National Party (PN) (44); Liberal Party (PL) (22); Salvador de Honduras Party (PSH) (10); Other (2)percentage of women in chamber: 27.3%expected date of next election: November 2025

Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"