Honduras

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{{Infobox_Country |native_name = República de Honduras |conventional_long_name = Republic of Honduras |common_name = Honduras |image_flag = Flag of Honduras.svg |image_coat = Honduras_COA.gif |image_map = LocationHonduras.png |national_motto = Libre, Soberana e Independiente
(English: "Free, Independent and Sovereign") |national_anthem = Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo |official_languages = Spanish |capital = Tegucigalpa |latd=14 |latm=6 |latNS=N |longd=87 |longm=13 |longEW=W |largest_city = Tegucigalpa |government_type = Democratic constitutional republic |leader_titles = President |leader_names =Manuel Zelaya |area_rank = 101st |area_magnitude = 1 E10 |area= 112,492 |areami²= 43,278 |percent_water = Negligible |population_estimate = 6,975,204 2 |population_estimate_rank = 98th |population_estimate_year = July 2005 |population_census = 2000 |population_census_year = 6,975,204 |population_density = 62.2 |population_densitymi² = 161.1 |population_density_rank = 107th |GDP_PPP = $20.56 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = 114th |GDP_PPP_year= 2005 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $2,900 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 160th |sovereignty_type = Independence |established_events =from Spain |established_dates =  - Declared
  15 September 1821
 - Recognized
  1823 |HDI = 0.667 |HDI_rank = 116th |HDI_year =2003 |HDI_category = medium |currency = Lempira |currency_code = HNL |country_code = |time_zone = |utc_offset = -6 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |cctld = .hn |calling_code = 504 |footnotes = 1 Although Honduras has no official motto, "NO PASARÁN" or "They shall not pass" became popular during the 1969 war with El Salvador. This is an allusion to the El Salvador's stated goal to reach the Honduran Caribbean coast during their offensive.
2 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. }}

The Republic of Honduras is a country in Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the south west by El Salvador, to the south east by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean, to the north by the Gulf of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea, with Belize (formerly British Honduras) situated 50 miles (75 km) away across the Gulf of Honduras.

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History

Main articles:History of Honduras,Timeline of Honduran history

The Pre-Columbian city of Copán is a locale in extreme western Honduras, in the Copán Department, near the Guatemalan border. It is the site of a major Maya civilization|Maya kingdom of the Classic era. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi (Corner-Bundle), flourished from the 5th century Anno Domini|AD to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century AD. The Maya civilization decayed, and by the time the Spanish came to Honduras, the once great city-state of Copán was overrun by the jungle.

On his fourth and final voyage to the New World, Columbus reached the coast of Honduras in 1502. After the Spanish discovery and subsequent conquest, Honduras became part of Spain's vast empire in the New World within the Kingdom of Guatemala. The Spanish ruled Honduras for approximately 3 centuries.

Along with Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, Honduras was granted independence from Spain in 1821 as part of the newly declared Mexican Empire of Iturbide. In 1823 The Central American states split from Mexico under the name of the United Provinces. The federation of the United Provinces disintegrated in 1838. The states of the United Provinces became independent nations.

The Football war of 1969 was fought with El Salvador. There had always been border tension between the two countries after Arellano, past president of Honduras, blamed the poor economy on squatters from El Salvador. From that point on the relationship between El Salvador and Honduras had been a soured one. It peaked when El Salvador met Honduras for a 3-round football elimination match as a preliminary to the World Cup. Great tension surrounded the game in Tegucigalpa, but it finally broke when Honduras won in the game taking place in San Salvador. It lasted approximately 100 hours and led to an arms race between the two countries. During the 1980s, the United States had a large military presence in Honduras with the purpose of creating, training and supporting the anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Nicaraguan government and to support the government of El Salvador forces fighting against the guerrilla warfare|guerrillas trying to oust a long succession of violently repressive military dictatorships, and military backed governments.

Hurricane Fifi caused severe damage while skimming the northern coast of Honduras on September 18 and 19, 1974. Later, Hurricane Mitch devastated the country and wrecked its economy in 1998.

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Politics

Main article:Politics of Honduras See also: Elections in Honduras President of Honduras

A Presidential and general election was held on November 27, 2005. Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras: PLH) won with Porfirio Pepe Lobo of the National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras: PNH) coming in second. The PNH challenged the election results, and Lobo Sosa did not concede until December 7. Towards the end of December the government finally released the total ballot count, giving Zelaya the official victory. Zelaya was inaugurated as Honduras' new president on January 27, 2006.

Honduras has five registered political parties: PNH, PLH, Social Democrats (Partido Innovación Nacional y Social Demócrata: PINU-SD), Social Christians (Partido Demócrata-Cristiano: DC), and Democrat Unification (Partido Unificación Democrática: UD). The PNH and PLH have ruled the country for decades. In the last years, Honduras has had five Liberal presidents: Roberto Suazo Córdova, José Azcona del Hoyo, Carlos Roberto Reina, Carlos Roberto Flores and Manuel Zelaya, and two Nationalists: Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero and Ricardo Maduro. The elections have been full of controversies including, questions about whether Azcona was born in Honduras or Spain, and whether Maduro should have been able to stand given he was born in Panama.

Honduras is a developing country in Central America.

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Subdivisions

Main articles: Departments of Honduras and Municipalities of Honduras

Honduras is divided into 18 departments and 298 municipalities. The largest department by surface area is Olancho department and by population is Francisco Morazán department, where the capital city of Tegucigalpa is located, and the smallest by both surface area and population is the Islas de la Bahía department.

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Geography

Image:Honduras sm04.png 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.

Honduran terrain consists mainly of mountains (~80%), 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 dividing the country from Nicaragua. See Rivers of Honduras.

Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, shrimp, and hydropower.

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Economy

Image:Electric cabletv internet.JPG Main article: Economy of Honduras

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, with GDP per capita at US$2050 per year (1999). The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized with average wages remaining very low. Economic growth is roughly 5% a year, but many people remain below the poverty line. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million people who are unemployed.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund classified Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries eligible for debt relief, and this debt relief was given in 2005.

Both the electricity services (ENEE) and land line telephone services (Hondutel) are run by government monopolies, with the former receiving heavy subsidies from the government because of its chronic financial problems. There are price controls around the price of petrol, and other temporary price controls of basic commodities are often passed for short periods by the Congress.

After years of declining against the US dollar the Lempira has stabilized at around 19 Lempiras per dollar.

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Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Honduras

The population of Honduras is predominantly of Mestizo descent and Roman Catholic faith, but there are also several Evangelical denominations. Along the northern coast are communities of English speakers who have maintained their culture since Honduras had some islands and sections along the Caribbean coast were occupied by pirates and by the British at one time or another. Groups of Garífuna live along the north coast, where there are also many Afro-Latin Americans. In the 20th century, Garífunas became part of Honduras' projected identity through theatrical presentations such as Louvavagu in order to help boost tourism. Asians in Honduras are mostly of Chinese and Japanese descent. Hundreds of families can find their roots in Lebanon or Palestine, in Middle Eastern families called "turcos", because they arrived at the country under turkish identities. The so-called "Turcos" along with the Jewish minority population influence the Honduran economy and politics by having the highest income. Many others have connections to Spain, the United States (especially New Orleans, Florida and California) and the Cayman Islands.

Even with all the "new-comers" in the country, the indigenous peoples of Honduras are widely scattered throughout the country. Tribes like Chortís (Mayan descent), Pech or Paya, Tolupanes or Xicaques, Lencas, Sumos or Tawahkas, and Miskitos are still present and most conserve their language. For the most part, these tribes live in extreme poverty due to their remote locations and uninterested government.

Interesting though, is that there is a distinct line separating some Honduran ethnical groups from others. Honduras not only is located in the heart of Central America, but between two worlds. Thus, we have the Mesoamerican area, where the Lenca and Maya Chorti tribes reside. Both groups fit in the same linguistical family to which the Olmec, Aztecs and the extinct Maya once belonged. The other zone is the "Area Intermedia", an dissimilar assemblage of tribes like Pech, Tawahka, Miskito, and Tolupan in Honduras, as well as the Yanomami indigenous people of South America, to name one.

The Garífuna are the newest ethnical addition to the country. Unlike other people from African descent who came to the Americas, these were never slaves, now these Black Caribs...

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Culture

Main article: Culture of Honduras

The patron saint of Honduras is the Virgin of Suyapa.

A Honduran can be called a Catracho or Catracha. The word is derived from the last name of Honduran General Florencio Xatruch, who led Honduran armed forces in defense of Honduran territories in 1857 against an attempted invasion led by North American filibuster William Walker. The nickname is considered complimentary, not derogatory.

One of Honduras' best known writers is Ramón Amaya Amador. Other writers include Roberto Sosa, Eduardo Bähr, Amanda Castro, Javier Abril Espinoza, and Roberto Quesada.

Oscar Andres Rodriguez is a Cardinal who was a potential candidate for Pope in the Papal conclave, 2005.

Not as famous as the cardinal, but also noteworthy, is Salvador Moncada, a world-renowned scientist with authorship of more than 12 highly cited papers, including his work on nitric oxide. His research on heart-related drugs includes the development of Viagra. Moncada works at the University College of London and funds an NGO in Tegucigalpa. He is married to Princess of Belgium Marie Esmeralda.

Honduras This Week is a weekly English language newspaper that has been published now for 17 years in Tegucigalpa. On the islands of Roatan, Utila and Guanaja the Bay Islands Voice is a source of monthly news since 2003.

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Environment

Image:Park view1.JPG The Mesoamerican region is a landmass that extends from Southern Mexico to Panama, considered also as a biodiversity hotspot for the numerous species of plants and animals that live there. Like the other countries in the region, Honduras contains vast biological resources and several ethnical groups. This 43,278 square mile (112,092 sq. km) country hosts more than 6,000 species of vascular plants, of which 630 -described so far- are Orchids; around 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 700 bird species, and 110 mammal species, being half of them bats.

In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest which provides home to a great diversity of life. Sometimes called "The Last Lungs of Central America", this Reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982.

Besides lush rain forests, untouched cloud forests (which can rise up to nearly three thousand meters above sea level), mangroves, savannas and mountain ranges ladden with pine and oak trees, Honduras harbours yet another priceless ecosystem: The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. In the Bay Islands it is no coincidence to swim with bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, parrot fish, schools of blue tang and even the colossal Whale shark. The white sands, tall coconut palms and the easy going caribbean atmosphere provide refuge from the busy Central American cities, or across the Atlantic Ocean.

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Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in Honduras. In the following articles you'll find some information of teams, competitions and players.

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Teams

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Competitions

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Players

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Venues

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Miscellaneous topics

Note: Some of these articles are based on text from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the U.S. Department of State website.

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Further reading

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  • Adventures in Nature: Honduras James D. Gollin
  • Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks From The Heart : The Story of Elvia Alvarado Medea Benjamin
  • Honduras: The Making of a Banana Republic Alison Acker
  • Honduras: State for Sale Richard Lapper, James Painter
  • Inside Honduras Kent Norsworthy and Tom Berry
  • La Mosquitia: A Guide to the Savannas, Rain Forest and Turtle Hunters Derek Parent
  • Moon Handbooks: Honduras Christopher Humphrey
  • Reinterpreting the Banana Republic: Region and State in Honduras, 1870-1972 Dario A. Euraque
  • Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conservation Geography in Honduras Mark Bonta
  • Ulysses Travel Guide: Honduras Eric Hamovitch
  • The United States in Honduras, 1980-1981: An Ambassador's Memoir Jack R. Binns
  • The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969 Thomas P. Anderson
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External links


Template:Central America

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Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas | Barbados | Belize | Canada | Costa Rica | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | El Salvador | Grenada | Guatemala | Haiti | Honduras | Jamaica | Mexico | Nicaragua | Panama | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Trinidad and Tobago | United States
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ar:هندوراس

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