Honduras, officially Republic of Honduras, Spanish República de Honduras, country of Central America situated between Guatemala and El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the south and east. The Caribbean Sea washes its northern coast, the Pacific Ocean its narrow coast to the south. Its area includes the offshore Caribbean department of the Bay Islands. The capital is Tegucigalpa (with Comayagüela), but—unlike most other Central American countries—another city, San Pedro Sula, is equally important industrially and commercially, although it has only half the population of the capital.
The bulk of the population of Honduras lives a generally isolated existence in the mountainous interior, a fact that may help to explain the rather insular policy of the country in relation to Latin and Central American affairs. Honduras, like its neighbours in the region, is a developing nation whose citizens are presented with innumerable economic and social challenges, a situation that is complicated by rough topography and the occasional violence of tropical weather patterns, including the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
The land
Relief
More than three-fourths of the land area of Honduras is mountainous, lowlands being found only along the coasts and in the several river valleys that penetrate toward the interior. The interior takes the form of a dissected upland with numerous small peaks. The main surface features have a general east-west orientation. There is a narrow plain of alluvium bordering the Gulf of Fonseca in the south. The southwestern mountains, the Volcanic Highlands, consist of alternating layers of rock composed of dark, volcanic detritus and lava flows, both of middle to early Cenozoic age (i.e., about 2.6 to 65 million years old). The northern mountains in other regions are more ancient, with granite and crystalline rocks predominating.
Four geographic regions may be discerned:
- The eastern Caribbean lowlands (including the northern part of the Mosquito [Miskito] Coast, called La Mosquitia) and mountain slopes embrace about one-fifth of the total land area of Honduras. Hot and humid, this area is densely forested in the interior highlands, and lumbering is an important economic activity. Subsistence agriculture and fishing are the main support of the scattered population.
- The northern coastal and alluvial plains and coastal sierras make up about one-eighth of the land area and contain about one-fourth of the population. This is an economically important region, the clayey and sandy loam soils producing rich crops of bananas, rice, cassava (manioc, or yuca), oil palm, corn (maize), citrus fruits, and beans. Cattle, poultry, and pigs are raised. The nation’s railroads are confined to this northern area, which has four of the five important ports of entry.
- The central highlands take up two-thirds of the national territory and contain the vast majority of the population. The mountains are rugged, rising in the west to 9,347 feet (2,849 metres) at Mount Las Minas, the highest point in the country. The numerous flat-floored valleys lie between 2,000 and 4,000 feet (600 to 1,200 metres) in elevation. The generally fertile soils, derived from lava and volcanic ash, produce coffee, tobacco, wheat, corn, sorghum, beans, fruits, and vegetables and support cattle, poultry, and pigs.
- The Pacific lowlands, centred on the Gulf of Fonseca, and the adjacent lower mountain slopes are only a small part of the land area and contain an equally small part of the population. The fertile soils, composed of alluvium or volcanic detritus, produce sesame seed, cotton, and some corn and sorghum. Cattle are raised on the lowland pastures, and coffee is grown on the nearby uplands.
Climate
The climate is generally hot, with high humidity in the tropical coastal lowlands becoming modified by elevation toward the interior. Lowlands below 1,500 feet (460 metres) have mean annual temperatures between 79 and 82 °F (26 and 28 °C). The north coast is occasionally affected from October to April by cool northern winds of continental origin. Mountain basins and valleys, from 2,000 to 4,000 feet (600 to 1,200 metres), have mean annual temperatures of 66 and 73 °F (19 and 23 °C).
At Tegucigalpa, located on hilly terrain at an elevation of 3,200 feet (975 metres), the rainy season starts in May and continues until mid-November, with temperatures sometimes reaching 90 °F (32 °C) in May and dropping to 50 °F (10 °C) in December, the coolest month. Around 7,000 feet (2,100 metres) mean annual temperatures are about 58 °F (14 °C).
In the northern and eastern coastal and alluvial plains and on adjacent mountains, mean annual precipitation ranges from 70 to 110 inches (1,800 to 2,800 mm) or more, with a less rainy season from March to June; these areas occasionally have summer hurricanes that are accompanied by heavy rains. Pacific plains and mountain slopes get 60 to 80 inches (1,500 to 2,000 mm) of rain annually but from December to April receive little or no rain. Interior sheltered mountain basins and valleys receive 40 to 70 inches (1,000 to 1,800 mm) annually.
Plant and animal life
In eastern Honduras the coastal and lagoon swamps have mangrove and palm forests, and west of these are low, rainy, sandy plains with pine (Pinus caribaea) savanna, extending inland for 40 miles (65 km) or more. West of the pine savanna, in low valleys and on lower mountains, which are rainy all year, and on the low, rainy northern mountains are broad belts of dense evergreen broad-leaved forests with many species of large trees, including mahogany, lignum vitae, Spanish cedar, balsa, rosewood, ceiba, sapodilla, and castilloa rubber. The high, rainy mountain slopes of highland Honduras support excellent oak-pine forests. Open, dry, deciduous woodlands and temperate grasslands are spread throughout the interior highland basins and valleys. The Pacific plains and adjacent mountain slopes have deciduous tropical forests and savannas. Mangroves occupy the low coastal swamps.
Insects, birds, and reptiles are the most conspicuous animal forms. There are many species of butterflies, moths, beetles, bees, wasps, spiders, ants, flies, and mosquitoes, many of them beautifully coloured. Waterfowl in large numbers inhabit the coastal areas. Crocodiles, snakes, lizards (giant iguana and others), and turtles are found in the tropical forest areas. The fauna also includes deer, peccaries, tapirs, pumas, jaguars, and ocelots. Fish and mollusks are abundant in lagoons and coastal waters. Deforestation of some interior regions since the Spanish conquest has led to serious soil erosion, and, since the mid-20th century, pesticides used by banana producers have caused environmental damage in the coastal regions.
To safeguard native flora and fauna, numerous national parks, protected forests, and biological reserves were established in the late 1980s and ’90s, including Mount Bonito National Park (1987), which covers 434 square miles (1,125 square km), and the protected forests Cuero y Salado (1987) and Isopo Point (1992). Extending more than 60 square miles (155 square km) near the Guatemalan border is Mount Azul de Copán National Park (1987), an area of rainforest that surrounds the famous Mayan ruins of Copán. La Tigra National Park was established in 1980 and covers 92 square miles (238 square km) of cloud forest near Tegucigalpa.
The people of Honduras
Honduras has been inhabited since well before the 1st century CE. The ruins at Copán in western Honduras indicate that the area was the centre of Mayan civilization before the Maya migrated to the Yucatán Peninsula. Most of the American Indians are Lenca and are now found in the southwest, near the Guatemala border, close to the most important Indian centres of the pre-Columbian period. Small, isolated groups of non-Spanish-speaking Indians—such as the Jicaque, Miskito (Mosquito), and Paya—continue to live in the northeast, although their numbers are declining. Of the total population, about nine-tenths is mestizo (a mixture of Spanish and Indian). Blacks of West Indian origin and Garifuna (Black Caribs) make up a significant part of the population along the Caribbean coast, an area where English is widely spoken.
The official language of Honduras is Spanish, and the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, some two-thirds of the population being adherents. The largest of the remaining groups are Protestant, with notable congregations in the east and on the Bay Islands. There has been rapid growth in Protestant churches, especially since the upheaval caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
A pronounced shift in population took place during the early part of the 20th century from the interior to the hot, humid northern coast, where employment opportunities were provided by the United Fruit Company. These northwestern lowlands and the western and southern highlands constitute the most densely populated parts of the country. The population grew extremely fast during the mid-20th century, posing a considerable problem in employment and housing. Although the rate of growth slowed somewhat by the 1990s, it remained well above the world average.
The majority of the population is rural, living in small villages or isolated settlements; more than half of Hondurans are urban residents.
During the 1980s and ’90s there was an especially rapid increase in urban population in and around Tegucigalpa, with accompanying overcrowding of housing, suburban development, air and water pollution, and rising crime rates. In the rest of the country, the mountainous, forested terrain and poor roads added to the local isolation.
The economy
Honduras is a poor country, and the majority of Hondurans work under extremely difficult conditions. The government has, however, adopted more active economic policies since the mid-20th century. In 1954 striking banana workers led the trade union movement to one of its most resounding triumphs, which resulted in the promulgation (in 1955) of a labour code that is considered one of the most complete instruments of its kind in Latin America. The code has generally resulted in a higher standard of living for the worker and better operating conditions for business; labour laws are not always strictly applied, however, and some workplaces are substandard.
The country’s natural resources include agricultural lands along the northern coast and interior river valleys, extensive pine forests, and small deposits of silver, lead, zinc, and low-grade iron ore. The economy is geographically divided between the highlands, where subsistence farming, stock raising, and mining have long dominated, and the lowlands, where plantation agriculture based largely on bananas is the chief occupation. In 1998, however, Hurricane Mitch devastated large portions of Honduran agriculture and transportation infrastructure, requiring major reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Early in the 21st century agriculture contributed little more than one-tenth of the gross domestic product (GDP) but still employed the biggest slice (about two-fifths) of the labour force. Two U.S. corporations—Chiquita (formerly United Fruit Company and United Brands) and Dole (formerly Standard Fruit and Steamship Company and Castle & Cooke)—hold a disproportionate amount of the country’s agricultural land and produce a substantial part of the national income by growing the majority of the country’s banana crop. Important export crops other than bananas include coffee beans, tobacco, and sugarcane. Corn is the chief staple crop. Honduran farmers also plant genetically modified corn (illegal in the rest of Central America), which has helped combat food shortages and rising corn prices. Cattle raising is the main livestock activity, and beef has become an important export.
About two-fifths of the country’s land is covered by forests, making forest products a potentially large source of national income. The extensive pine forests were attacked by blight in the 1960s, and mahogany—the major timber export—began declining in importance. The practice of shifting agriculture, employing widespread burning of forests and the cutting of wood for fuel, has caused a depletion of forest resources. Present commercial practices of forest exploitation are inefficient. A substantial portion of timber harvested for commercial purposes does not reach the sawmill, and less than half of the timber that arrives at the mill is processed into lumber. To help alleviate the wasteful forestry practices, the government put all forest trees under state ownership in 1974, but forests continue to be depleted at a rapid rate.
Fishing is a small but developing industry, carried on mainly off the Caribbean coast. Shrimp and lobster are the most important parts of the catch, the largest portion of which is shipped to the United States.
Industry
Manufacturing, which accounted for about one-fifth of the GDP in the early 21st century, is dominated by small-scale firms that operate with intermediate levels of technology and possess limited processing capabilities. Dozens of foreign-owned maquiladoras (duty-free manufacturing plants) were opened in the late 20th century, and by 1997 they employed as many as 75,000 workers, mostly women. The major products manufactured and processed are food products, beverages, textiles, clothing, chemicals, lumber, and paper products. The production of capital and heavy intermediate goods is minimal. Industrial plants are located largely in the urban areas of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.
Mineral resources are limited but include silver, gold, lead, zinc, antimony, iron, mercury, and copper. From the 19th to the mid-20th century, the economy was largely dependent upon the production of silver and gold, particularly from El Mochito mine, which was the largest in Central America. Mining accounts for a tiny percent of the GDP, with zinc the leading mineral export.
Transportation
Except along the northern coastal plain, where railroads serve the banana plantations, the country’s rugged terrain favours the development of roads instead of railroads, and roads in Honduras carry the vast majority of the freight tonnage and almost all the passenger traffic. The heart of the primary road network is the north-south highway that links the Pacific port of San Lorenzo and the Caribbean port of Puerto Cortez, stopping at Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The highway provides access to important agricultural areas in the Sula and Choluteca valleys and along the Caribbean coast. The Inter-American Highway (part of the Pan-American Highway) cuts across southern Honduras for about 100 miles. Highways also run southwest from San Pedro Sula to the El Salvador border and along the northern coast from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba. Hurricane Mitch caused enormous damage to the Honduran road system.
The Honduras National Railway, which is owned by the government and extends from Puerto Cortez to San Pedro Sula, hauls timber and agricultural products. The Tela Railway, once owned by the United Brands Company and acquired by the Honduras government in 1975, provides service for plantations in the eastern Sula Valley and the coastal plain. Another government-owned railroad runs east along the coastal plain to Balfate, with a branch extending into the Aguán Valley.
All Honduran ports are operated by the National Port Authority. The major ports in the country are Puerto Cortez, Tela, La Ceiba, and Puerto Castilla. The Pacific coast provides deepwater anchorage at Amapala on El Tigre Island and at the mainland port of San Lorenzo, completed in 1978.
Domestic air travel, although declining, supplements rail and highway travel, which includes intercity bus and truck service. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport at San Pedro Sula is the largest airfield. The airport at Tegucigalpa has a substantially shorter runway and is minimally suitable for modern jet travel.
Administration and social conditions
Government
Since acquiring independence in 1821, Honduras has constitutionally been a democratic, representative, unitary state with power divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The country’s constitution was rewritten 17 times between the years 1821 and 1982. However, power has often changed hands by violent, undemocratic means. Although the legislature is given the power to pass laws, practically all important legislation is drafted by the president and other members of the executive branch. The National Congress in theory has great authority to check the administrative activities of the president, but only during the period 1925–31, when several cabinet ministers appointed by the president were forced to resign through censure, was such authority effective.
The president, who is head of state and of the government, is elected directly by popular vote for an unrenewable term of four years. The single-house National Congress is composed of 128 legislators elected to four-year terms. The major political parties are the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras) and the National Party (Partido Nacional). All citizens over 18 years of age are permitted to vote.
For purposes of local administration, Honduras is divided into 18 departamentos. Governors are appointed by the president, one for each department, to carry out central government decisions. The departments are divided into municipios (municipalities), which are further partitioned into aldeas (villages, or hamlets). Rural areas are grouped into caseríos (settlements), which are subdivisions of aldeas. Localities may elect a mayor, a legal representative, and a council.
The justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president. The Supreme Court exercises centralized control over the lower courts, including the appointment of justices, and has original and exclusive jurisdiction to declare acts of the legislature unconstitutional.
Education
The Honduran educational system follows the European model of centralized control through the Ministry of Public Education. According to law, education is free and, at the primary level, compulsory for all children. Efforts have been made to combat illiteracy, which affects more than one-fourth of the population over age 15 and is especially prevalent among older people. Higher education is centred at the National Autonomous University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa (founded 1847).
Welfare and health
By the end of the 20th century, Honduras, like most other Latin American countries, had moved increasingly in the direction of the interventionist, or welfare, state. In 1955 the Honduran basic labour code came into effect, granting the right to work, a minimum wage, an eight-hour workday, the freedom to form labour unions, collective bargaining, conciliation, and the right to strike. Social security and social welfare benefits were not improved appreciably, however: many Honduran workers outside the public sector and not employed by business or industry are not covered. Health care also is generally inadequate for the poor urban and rural labourers. Death rates are high among the lower economic groups, who suffer from two severe health problems in particular, malnutrition and malaria.
Cultural life
The art and architecture of the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial periods are strongly evident in Honduran culture. Of special interest is the great Mayan city of Copán, which represents the height of the Mayan Classic period. Discovered in the early 16th century, Copán was partly excavated and restored in 1839. Spanish architecture reflects Moorish, Gothic, and, especially, Baroque styles. Modern Honduran culture has not produced many strong representatives of its art, the country’s widespread poverty being a major impediment. Most contemporary artists reflect their colonial heritage, and the pre-Columbian heritage is seen mainly in Indian crafts. Social themes may also be reflected in paintings and literary works, the latter generally represented by poetry and short fiction.
Daily life
The family is central to Honduran daily life and society, and strong emphasis is placed on family loyalty. Not only do family ties form a vital part of social identity, but they provide assistance in business and in finding one’s path through government bureaucracy and red tape. Particularly close, trusted friends are often brought into family circles by being designated compadres (“godparents”), an honour (and a mark of responsibility) that is often conferred at marriages and baptisms. In addition to religious marriages, civil ceremonies are common, as are free unions. Many couples eventually have a religious ceremony, but typically only after their funds allow for a grand wedding celebration.
There are many comidas típicas (“typical foods”) associated with the various regions of the country, including sopa de hombre (“man’s soup”) and other seafood dishes in the south, queso con chile (“cheese with chili peppers”) in the west, and cazabe (mashed cassava) among Garifuna in the north. Found throughout the country are such dishes as tamales and yuca con chicharrón (fried cassava and pork). Among the poor the dietary staple is corn, often eaten as tortillas. Beans, cassava, plantains, and rice are common, but meat and green vegetables are not. The gap between the wealthy (and even the middle-class) and the poor is pronounced. Impoverished families in rural areas typically live on tiny parcels of land, and urban poor often inhabit cramped, unsanitary rows of dirt-floored rooms called cuarteríos.
Cultural institutions
Cultural institutions in Honduras include the National School of Music and the Republican History Museum (founded 1993), both in Tegucigalpa, and the Archaeological Museum of Comayagua. The Autonomous National University of Honduras (1847) in the capital enrolls more than 30,000 students. Some other institutions produce theatrical works in both Spanish and English.
There is general freedom of the press in Honduras, and daily newspapers are published in the principal cities of the country. Those of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are the most noteworthy, and several have Internet editions. The progressive and rapid development of radio and television has provided the country with excellent facilities for speedy and effective communication. There are radio and television networks that cover the entire country.
Sports and recreation
The programming on several radio stations features rock and popular music from the United States and Europe. Many television programs are imported and dubbed into Spanish as well, and motion pictures are typically Hollywood imports with Spanish subtitles. Family recreation often revolves around religious festivals honouring local saints. On February 3, Catholics throughout the nation celebrate the patron saint of Honduras, the Virgin of Suyapa, named for the village near which her venerated image was found.
Football (soccer) is a passion for many Hondurans. There is scarcely a village that does not sponsor a team or club at some level of competition, and international matches often arouse great emotion. The national team has remained a strong contender; it advanced to the semifinals in the 1998 World Cup, and it took second place at the 1999 Pan American Games after defeating the United States, Uruguay, Cuba, Jamaica, and Canada in turn.
Many of Honduras’s better sports and recreational facilities cater to the tourist trade. Scuba diving, swimming, and sport fishing (especially for tarpon) are popular in the resort region around Cannon Island, on the northern coast.
History of Honduras
The following history of Honduras focuses on events since European settlement. (For regional treatment, see pre-Columbian civilizations: Mesoamerican civilization; Latin America, history of; and Central America.)
Early history
When the Spanish arrived to colonize Honduras, the land was occupied by a variety of indigenous peoples, the most advanced of whom were the Maya. Gold stimulated Spanish conquest of the area early in the 16th century, and the Honduran gold-mining town of Gracias became the capital of Spanish Central America (the Audiencia de los Confines) in 1544. By 1548, however, the Spaniards had exhausted the gold, and Santiago (Antigua Guatemala) became the new capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. Honduras, with its capital at Comayagua and agriculture the base of its economy, was a province of that kingdom (audiencia) within the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
In the 1570s a silver strike in the highlands brought a rush of prospectors to Honduras, resulting in the rise of an important population centre at Tegucigalpa, which competed thereafter, especially in the 18th century, with Comayagua. However, agriculture, the enduring economic base of Central America, was slow to develop in Honduras. Development of Spanish society in the Honduras area was hindered by coastal attacks from the pirates and buccaneers endemic to the Caribbean Sea and eventually by a concerted British effort to control the coastal areas of Central America. For long periods the Spanish utilized a soft defense against the Caribbean threat, falling back to the highlands and to the Pacific coastal areas, which were generally closer to their network of communication and transportation. Thus, the British came to control the Caribbean’s Mosquito coastal region. The Sambo-Miskito peoples along the coast were the indispensable allies of the British in this endeavour. In the 18th century, however, the Spanish Bourbon kings made a sustained effort to recover the Caribbean coastal areas, and their success in the Gulf of Honduras was manifested by the completion of a fort at Omoa on the gulf by 1779.
Independence from Spain came in 1821 and from Mexico in 1823, when Honduras joined in the formation of the United Provinces of Central America. Friction between Liberal and Conservative factions soon undermined the federation, however. In general, the Liberals favoured republicanism, freer trade, less government regulation, removal of the Catholic clergy’s political and economic powers, and imitation of foreign models of development. Conservatives defended the clergy, leaned toward monarchism, mistrusted foreign models, and were generally more traditional and pro-Spanish in their outlook. In 1830 a Honduran Liberal, Francisco Morazán, became president of this federation, and for a decade he promoted Liberal policies that curtailed the traditional power and privileges of the clergy and increased agricultural exports. Conservative and popular opposition to Liberal policies led to the collapse of the federation, and Honduras declared its absolute independence on November 5, 1838.
The pro-church Conservatives in Honduras took control under Francisco Ferrera, who became the first constitutional president on January 1, 1841. During the mid-19th century, despite its declaration of sovereignty, Honduras supported efforts to restore the Central American union, while its real independence was severely limited by its more powerful neighbours. Conservative domination lasted until the 1870s, during which time the church regained its former position and the Honduran government signed a concordat (1861) with the Holy See in Rome.
After 1871 the ascendancy of Justo Rufino Barrios in Guatemala influenced a return to liberalism in Honduras, where Marco Aurelio Soto, a Liberal, assumed the presidency (1876). In 1880 the Liberals promulgated a new constitution that sought to undo the work of the Conservatives, and they also moved the capital from Comayagua to Tegucigalpa. Five years later, Liberals in Honduras and elsewhere proved to be nationalists first and blocked an attempt by Guatemala to unify the isthmus by force. Liberals continued to dominate the country well into the 20th century, encouraging foreign investment and economic growth, although Honduras remained the poorest state on the isthmus.
The 20th century
In the first decade of the 20th century, Nicaraguan strongman José Santos Zelaya put Miguel Dávila into the Honduran presidency. This led in 1911 and 1912 to something more serious than periodic revolutions. The U.S. president, William Howard Taft, sent marines to protect American banana investments, which by this time had grown considerably, with three companies exploiting this Honduran product. All three made large capital outlays in the form of improved port facilities, railroads, workers’ settlements, and similar developments.
In 1918 Honduras declared war on Germany but took no active part in World War I. Thereafter, disenchanted Liberals and Conservatives formed the National Party to challenge continued Liberal rule. In 1932, following political unrest and economic decline caused by the Great Depression, National Party leader Gen. Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected president and remained in office until 1949. Carías’s policies, however, differed little from Liberal political or economic policy.
Honduras declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy in December 1941. The wartime curtailment of shipping brought much economic distress; export surpluses of bananas, coconuts, and copra piled up, leading to widespread unemployment and consequent unrest. But the government was able to maintain itself, & it promulgated some beneficial reforms. Carías survived a revolution in 1947, but he soon turned the government over to his minister of defense, Juan Manuel Gálvez (ruled 1949–54).
Julio Lozano Díaz (1954–56) continued National Party rule, but political turmoil and military revolt in 1957 led to the congressional election of Ramón Villeda Morales (1957–63), a Liberal who brought some modernization to the transportation system and to labour legislation. In 1963 Col. Osvaldo López Arellano overthrew Villeda and declared himself head of state, returning the National Party to power. In the summer of 1969 the Soccer War with El Salvador broke out, triggered indeed by a soccer (football) game but caused by severe economic and demographic problems. Though brief, the war dampened hopes for economic and political integration in Central America.
Honduras was ruled by military governments from 1963 until the election of Ramón Ernesto Cruz (1971–72). Cruz’s election resulted from the Soccer War, which Honduras had lost militarily. But López, chief of the armed forces, retained real power, and in December 1972 he removed Cruz from office. Pressured toward modernizing reforms by younger military officers, López astonished many by announcing, in January 1974, a reform program that included land redistribution. His program had little success, however.
López was discredited and forced to resign in 1975 because of an international bribery scandal; he was replaced by Col. Juan Alberto Melgar Castro (1975–78). Honduras prospered modestly under Melgar, largely because of high earnings from the elevated world coffee market during those years. His administration was weakened, however, by a series of scandals.
Gen. Policarpo Paz García, who attained power through a bloodless military coup in late 1978, pledged to continue Melgar’s policies, but he soon faced harder times. Central America entered a cycle of violence with the revolution in Nicaragua that overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 and the revolution in El Salvador that was underway in that same year. Honduras appeared to be an island of stability as its neighbours experienced guerrilla warfare. In November 1981 the country elected a civilian government after 17 years of almost continuous military rule.
The new Honduran president, Roberto Suazo Córdova of the Liberal Party, was a noted anticommunist who favoured strong relations with the United States. Hopes ran high for internal improvements, but these were dashed as Honduras became embroiled in the growing regional conflicts. Protests grew over the presence of Nicaraguan contras (guerrilla fighters), who were using U.S.-sanctioned Honduran border areas as bases for attacks against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. There was also dissension over U.S.-run camps for training Salvadorans in counterinsurgency to combat the growing civil war in their country. (Honduras banned these camps in 1984.)
The U.S. presence supported the further militarization of Honduras, and Honduran army chieftain Gustavo Álvarez Martínez appeared to be the real power there until 1984, when younger officers loyal to Suazo ousted the chieftain amid anti-American demonstrations in Tegucigalpa. Suazo’s government continued, however, to cooperate with the anti-Sandinista activities of the United States, and he received substantial economic aid in return, including U.S. construction of airports and other military installations. In the late 1980s Honduras joined the other Central American governments in a cooperative movement for regional peace. This brought increased pressure to restrict contra activity and to reduce the U.S. presence in Honduras.
The U.S. government had hoped that its relations with Honduras would help establish the country as a model Central American democracy, but that image was tarnished in 1986 when another Liberal, José Azcona Hoyo, succeeded Suazo despite having received far fewer votes than the National Party candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas. In 1989, however, Callejas won election and took office in 1990, the first time in 57 years that an opposition government had taken office peacefully.
Callejas’s administration faced labour disputes, rising crime and violence, and charges of corruption. A major conflict between independent banana producers and Chiquita reduced banana exports in 1990, and by 1992 the annual per capita income in Honduras was only two-fifths of what it had been prior to the conflict. Severe economic and financial decline allowed the Liberals to sweep back to power in 1994 with Carlos Roberto Reina, whose conciliatory approach did not solve all the nation’s problems but nevertheless gained him wider support than Callejas had enjoyed, and the Liberals were able to win again in November 1997.
The new president, Carlos Flores Facussé, an engineer with close ties to the United States, represented the more conservative wing of the Liberal Party and promised to continue the probusiness policies of his predecessors. In October 1998, however, Hurricane Mitch, one of the worst storms to strike the Western Hemisphere in recorded history, dumped torrential rains on the country, washing away crops, roads, and population centres throughout Honduras. The storm killed several thousand Hondurans, displaced in excess of a million persons, ruined the country’s economy and infrastructure, and caused widespread misery and unemployment. A massive international relief effort supported the reconstruction efforts, which occupied Honduras for the next several years.
The 21st century
Ricardo Maduro Joest of the National Party won the 2001 presidential elections. During his time in office, Honduras received debt relief and ratified the implementation of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States. Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party took over the presidency in 2006, after defeating the National Party’s candidate, rancher Porfirio Lobo Sosa, in the 2005 presidential election—one of the closest races in the country’s history.
Zelaya focused on fighting crime and the ongoing drug trade in the country. His administration extended the protection that allowed hundreds of thousands of Hondurans to continue working legally in the United States. Remittances from workers there accounted for about one-fourth of the Honduran gross domestic product. A longtime boundary dispute with Nicaragua was settled in 2007 by the United Nations, and it resulted in Honduras gaining sovereignty over four Caribbean islands. In 2008 Honduras joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas [ALBA; Alternativa later changed to Alianza (“Alliance”)]), a leftist alliance formed in 2004 by Venezuela and Cuba.
On June 28, 2009, President Zelaya was ousted in a military coup for having forged ahead with a national referendum that, if passed, would have allowed him to revise the constitution and serve a second presidential term. The military and the National Congress had opposed the referendum, which also had been declared illegal by the Supreme Court. Later that day, after the military flew Zelaya to Costa Rica, the National Congress voted him out of office and elected congressional leader Roberto Micheletti as acting president. The international community quickly condemned the ouster. The United Nations passed a resolution that recognized Zelaya as the rightful president of Honduras. Likewise, the Organization of American States (OAS) demanded that Zelaya be restored to the presidency. In response, Honduras withdrew from the latter organization. The OAS, declaring the withdrawal illegitimate because it did not recognize Honduras’s interim government, then unanimously voted to suspend Honduras from the group.
In July Costa Rican Pres. Óscar Arias Sánchez began mediating the Honduran political crisis, but Zelaya and Micheletti rebuffed his proposed solutions. Zelaya, who had been in exile mostly in Nicaragua, furtively reentered Honduras on September 21 and sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. In early November a U.S.-brokered attempt to form a unity government failed, and Zelaya continued to take refuge in the embassy. As Honduras remained in political isolation, the National Congress decided not to vote on Zelaya’s reinstatement until after November 29, the date of the country’s scheduled national elections.
Neither Zelaya nor Micheletti participated in this presidential race, in which Zelaya’s old rival Lobo emerged as the winner. More than three-fifths of voters reportedly participated in the election, a higher than average turnout for the country. Instances of voter intimidation were reported, however, and several countries in South America refused to recognize the election results. On December 2 the National Congress voted overwhelmingly against reinstating Zelaya, whose term had been set to end in late January 2010. On January 27, the day that Lobo was sworn in as president, Zelaya went into exile in the Dominican Republic. In May 2011, however, Lobo and Zelaya met in Colombia and signed an agreement that set the stage for the former president to return home and for Honduras’s reinstatement in the OAS.
In the early 2010s Honduras was afflicted with one of the world’s highest per capita homicide rates as violent gang-related crime reached epidemic proportions, largely as a result of Mexican drug cartels’ use of the country as a transit point. In November 2011 an emergency decree granted the military broad police powers in an attempt to staunch the crime, killing, and police corruption. Violence and death were also much in evidence in the long-running battle between peasants and large landowners in the Bajo Aguán region, where farmworkers had occupied land that wealthy landowners had purchased in the 1990s from farm cooperatives under circumstances the peasants claimed were illegal. Hopes for an end to gang-related violence ballooned in May 2013 when Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Mara 18)—two gangs that were at the centre of the violence in Honduras and elsewhere in the region, especially in El Salvador—agreed to a truce.
In late November 2013 Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party was declared the winner of the presidential election held on November 24. He captured more than 36 percent of the vote, while about 29 percent was for the second-place finisher, Xiomara Castro, the candidate of the Freedom and Refoundation (Libertad y Refundación; Libre) Party, which had been founded by Zelaya, her husband. The remaining votes were divided between six other candidates. Claiming that the election results were “a fraud of incalculable proportions,” Castro demanded a recount, and her supporters took to the streets in protest. Though international observers declared that the election process had been transparent, they said that there had been election irregularities.
On January 27, 2014, Hernández was inaugurated as president. Because his National Party held just 48 of the 128 seats in the National Congress, it was forced to make legislative concessions to the Liberal Party to win its support for the National Party’s candidate for the chamber’s presidency, Mauricio Oliva. Most notably, it agreed to remove a 15 percent retail sales tax on basic consumer goods from a highly controversial economic-reform law (“paquetazo azul”) that had been enacted in 2013.
Hondurans took to the streets in 2015 to protest Hernández’s alleged embroilment in a corruption scandal involving the bilking of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds by Social Security Institute officials, who then allegedly doled out inflated contracts to suspect and dummy companies. Hernández admitted to having accepted contributions to his 2013 presidential campaign from some of the companies involved but claimed ignorance of the origin of the funds.
Having pointed in 2014 to the desire to escape crime-related violence as the main reason why Honduran minors by the thousands attempted to migrate illegally to the U.S., Hernández welcomed the arrival of the Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras. Sponsored by the Organization of American States, the mission, which included international judges, prosecutors, and legal experts, was charged with working with the Honduran Supreme Court and prosecutors to investigate corruption. Meanwhile, in April 2016, more than two dozen high-ranking police officials were fired as part of the latest effort to eradicate the alleged influence of organized crime on the national police force. The purge came in response to newspaper reports earlier in the month of a cover-up of internal police investigations that allegedly revealed that the top police commanders, acting at the behest of drug lords, were responsible for the 2009 murder of the leading antidrug official and that of his top aide in 2011.
Shrouded in mystery and awash in widespread accusations of fraud, the Honduran presidential election on November 26, 2017, plunged the country into weeks of uncertainty and fatal violence. In April 2015 allies of Hernández had persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down the law that prevented presidents from seeking a second term, the very same aspiration that had led to the ouster of Zelaya from the presidency in 2009.
Thus, in November 2017 Hernández stood for reelection, against his principal challenger, onetime sportscaster Salvador Nasralla, the candidate of the opposition Alliance coalition. Nasralla stunned observers when, with some 57 percent of the vote counted, he led the incumbent by 5 percent. At this point, Luis Zelaya, the candidate of the Liberal Party, conceded and called on Hernández to do the same. Some international media outlets began presenting Nasralla as the imminent winner. Then, suddenly, public announcements of the election results went silent for more than a day. When they resumed, Nasralla’s lead had shrunk. Ultimately, the electoral commission announced that Hernández had overtaken Nasralla to win by a small margin.
A tremendous outcry ensued. Thousands took to the streets to protest, resulting in violence that caused more than 20 deaths. The Alliance presented the electoral commission with a list of 11 demands to be met if the opposition were to accept the outcome of the election as fair and transparent. The commission responded by pledging to recount 1,000 polling tallies. On December 17 the commission announced its final official count, declaring Hernández the winner with 42.95 percent of the vote to 41.42 percent for Nasralla. Although European Union election observers said that they had found no irregularities in the recount, the Alliance immediately called for new elections, as did the Organization of American States. Nevertheless, Hernández was eventually confirmed as the winner. In the aftermath of the election, the United Nations brokered an agreement between the National Party, the Liberal Party, and Nasralla that established a set of electoral reforms that were intended to restore the Honduran public’s faith in the country’s elections.
At the centre of Honduran political life during this period was the issue of emigration. For more than two decades there had been a steady increase in the flight of Hondurans to the United States. The exodus began in 1998 in response to the toll taken on Honduras by hugely destructive Hurricane Mitch. It escalated in the 21st century as economic opportunities disappeared and crime-related violence mushroomed, and it spiked following the 2009 coup, the 2013 election, and especially the 2017 election, which gave rise to the first mass caravan of Honduran migrants the next year. Tellingly, in 2009, 850 Hondurans requested asylum in the United States, and by 2019 that number had grown to more than 41,000. The tide swelled again after Hurricanes Etas and Iota clobbered Honduras in late 2020, disrupting the lives of four million Hondurans and causing some $1.9 billion in damage. At the same time, life in Honduras, like elsewhere around the world, was turned upside down by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic, which became another important push factor for emigration. Between October 2020 and September 2021, 320,000 Honduran migrants were taken into custody on the U.S. border, the highest annual total to date.
Meanwhile, Hernández’s second presidential term was tainted by accusations of corruption, including allegations that he was involved in cocaine trafficking. Hernández stridently protested his innocence, but he was identified as a coconspirator in several criminal prosecutions, most notably that of his brother, who was convicted in the United States of drug trafficking and in March 2021 received a life sentence. Because the prospect of extradition to the U.S. on criminal charges hung over Hernández once he was out of office, the results of the November 2021 legislative and presidential elections threatened important consequences for him.
As the presidential campaign season progressed, Nasry Asfura, the mayor of Tegucigalpa and the standard-bearer for Hernández’s National Party, sought to distance himself from the incumbent. His principal competitors in a field of more than a dozen candidates were Yani Rosenthal, the candidate of the Liberal Party, who himself had served time for money laundering, and Castro, whose run as the Libre candidate was guided by husband Zelaya and supported by Nasralla. When the results were in, Castro had tallied more than 51 percent of the vote to become the country’s first woman president. Asfura finished second, with nearly 37 percent of the vote, and Rosenthal third, with about 10 percent.
On February 15, 2022, some three weeks after Hernández left office, Honduran officials responded to a U.S. request for his extradition by arresting the unpopular former president at his home. He stood to face charges of colluding with drug cartels to facilitate the transportation of hundreds of tons of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela to the United States via Honduras in return for millions of dollars that he used to fund his political rise. At the end of March, the Honduran Supreme Court rejected Hernández’s legal efforts to block the extradition request, and in mid-April he was extradited to the United States.
Honduras Facts
Honduras has a motto of its own.
The country’s motto is in Spanish and states “Libre, Soberana e Independiente.” This translates to “Free, Sovereign, and independent” in the English language.
Honduras has rich natural resources.
A few of its best exports include minerals, tropical fruits, and sugar canes. Honduras also has a growing textile industry that exports its goods to other countries.
These exports are one of the main profits the country makes to keep its economy running today.
The flag of Honduras uses only two colors.
The flag of the Republic of Honduras only uses the color blue and white on its flag. The five stars on their flag also represent the five countries in Central America.
More notably, the center star on the flag represents Honduras, as it is the only Central American country that shares borders with the other four.
The capital of Honduras is Tegucigalpa.
The city of Tegucigalpa is located on a hilly terrain that is hemmed in by the country’s mountains. It stands at approximately 3,200 feet above sea level.
This city is also considered the largest in the country, founded by the Spanish as a mining town in the 16th century.
La Tribuna is one of the most popular newspapers in Honduras.
In 1976, writer and lawyer Oscar Armando Flores Midence founded the La Tribuna newspaper in Honduras. From its establishment, Midence led the publication as its president.
Over time, Midence officially relinquished his position in 2009. In his place, Midence selected his son Carlos Roberto Flores to succeed him as La Tribuna’s president.
The smallest bay island in Honduras is Utila.
This island’s entire eastern side is capped off with a thin veneer of basaltic volcanic rocks. This unique land formation was created by surrounding pyroclastic cones such as the 243 ft Pumpkin Hill.
The island of Utila currently has a rapidly growing scale of tourism that emphasizes recreational diving as its main attraction. The island is also known for being one of the best diving locations in the world.
British Honduras is also known as Belize.
Belize was a crown colony located on the east coast of Central America and south of Mexico. British Honduras was renamed to Belize in June 1973 when it gained full independence.
San Pedro Sula in Honduras is one of the most violent cities in the world.
In 2019, there were a total of 111.03 homicides per 100,000 residents in the city. The city is also plagued with several gangs, drug use, and poverty.
La Ceiba serves as the gateway to the bay islands of Honduras.
Located in northern Honduras, La Ceiba is a Caribbean port city and the gateway to the bay islands of Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja. It is also located along a great barrier reef that holds popular diving sites.
The site is also teeming with vast marine ecology such as whale sharks.
Televicentro is one of the main TV stations in Honduras.
This TV station is located in the capital of the city. Televicentro was founded in 1987 to unite four other television channels.
These included Canal 5, Telecadena 7 y 4, Telesistema Informativo (TSi), and Mega Show Business TV.
Typically, meals in Honduras include rice and beans.
A typical meal in Honduras includes some kind of protein and tortillas as well. Common meats include pork, beef, and chicken.
Local cuisine also includes much seafood and coconuts as their main ingredients.
Honduras has a national football team that represents the country.
The Honduras Men’s National Team represents Honduras in the Men’s football league competitions. Nicknamed the Los Catrachos, this sports team was founded in 1921.
Its very first international football match was against the Guatemalan team in September 1921.
Honduras translates to ‘Depths’.
The name is believed to reference Trujillo’s history as an anchorage bay. In the Leonese dialect of the Spanish language, the word Honduras also comes from ‘fondura’.
This may also possibly reference Christopher Columbus’s alleged quote, “Gracias a Dios hemos salido de eses Honduras.” The explorer’s words roughly translate to “Thank God we have departed from those depths.” in English.
Until 1580, Honduras was only referred to as the eastern part of the country.
The western part of the country was also once referred to as the Higueras. Additionally, another early name for the country was Guaymuras, which was revived as the name of the political dialogue in 2009.
Catracho or Catracha is often the term used to refer to Hondurans.
Originally coined by the Nicaraguans, this term roots from the surname of the Spanish Honduran General, Florencio Xatruch.
This general also led the Honduran armed forces in 1857 against the attempted invasion of North American adventurer, William Walker. The nickname for the people is considered not to derogatory, but instead complimentary.
Honduras was once part of the Mesoamerican cultural area before the Columbian times.
Historians believe that in the extreme west, the Mayan civilization flourished before the arrival of the Columbian colony. Copan was also one of the most dominant and well-studied states within the borders of the country.
Visitors may explore Maya ruins in Honduras.
Much of the Mayan city has been preserved for years, and many of its larger artifacts have been moved to museums and indoor storage facilities. The site is also home to the world’s longest petroglyph which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Maya ruins are a collection of large free-standing statues and temples with detailed carvings. Symbols are also carved across the faces of the rocks which are still being deciphered by historians to this day.
Honduras is a part of the second-largest coral reef in the entire world.
The Belize Barrier Reef is the second-largest coral reef in the world next to the Great Barrier Reef. It is a 300 km long section that is part of the 900 km Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.
This continues from Cancun located on the north-eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula through the Riviera Maya, connecting to Honduras.
The country of Honduras is one of the first countries to ban smoking in private homes.
The new anti-smoking laws in Honduras are strictly implemented. The law has also allowed family members to call the authorities if someone smoking inside their homes refuses to stop.
Smokers must also be six feet away from non-smokers and stay within designated smoking areas.
The Scarlet Macaw is the national bird of Honduras.
Also known as the Aro Macao, this bird is known for its iconic red, blue, and yellow plumes. These birds typically live in forests located in the northern Central American areas.
The IUCN has also declared this species of bird as endangered. The Scarlet Macaw was declared the national bird of Honduras in 1993 by the Congress of Honduras as a way to raise awareness of this species of birds.
Honduras is the second-largest country found in Central America.
Honduras’ size only comes second to Nicaragua in Central America. Honduras also has four distinctive regions: the central highlands, eastern Caribbean lowlands, northern coastal plains, and Pacific lowlands.
Honduras has gained a reputation as the Banana Republic.
The term Banana Republic comes from the time when bananas comprised the country’s primary exports. This term collectively refers to most Latin American countries with a bountiful supply of banana exports.
The life expectancy in the republic of Honduras is 74.6 years old.
As of 2018, the life expectancy of residents in Honduras is 74.6 years old. This has increased significantly since 1960 when life expectancy was just below 50 years old.
One of the top leading causes of death in the country is death through violence and coronary heart disease. Strokes and kidney failures are also quite common for residents of Honduras.
Those who are a part of the Mara Salvatrucha are covered head to toe in tattoos.
The Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as the MS-13, is an international criminal organization that originated from the city of Los Angeles, California in 1970. While it was originally established to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the area, it became a more traditional crime group over time.
The organization has several territories including Honduras, Canada, and the United States. The group also mainly consists of Central American members.
The busses in Honduras are called chicken busses.
These busses are often painted colorfully and are often used by locals as a way of transporting stock. This also includes live-stock such as chickens, hence the name.
The term is believed to have originated from Guatemala and has since been a popular way to transport goods.
The most popular event enjoyed in Honduras involves sawdust.
This Honduran event is called the Sawdust Alfombras de Comayagua. It is celebrated by creating large tapestries following religious themes using colored sawdust.
Once the tapestry is finished, they are trampled on by a holy march which marks the stations of the cross. Each artwork has an evangelistic message and is designed using cardboard molds.
Honduras owns one of the oldest clocks in the world.
Built during the colonial era in Honduras, the Cathedral de la Inmaculada Concepción of Comayagua was inaugurated in December 1711. The interior features a clock built by Arabs during the Spanish occupation around 1100.
The white-tailed deer is the national mammal of the Republic of Honduras.
The Yucatan white-tailed deer serves as the national symbol of all Honduran wildlife. This was officially established by the National Congress of the Republic of Honduras in 1993.
Honduras was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502.
Christopher Columbus discovered the land of Honduras during his fourth voyage on July 30, 1502. He arrived at Guanaja and sent his brother, Bartholomew, to scout the island they came across.
He later found out that the island was inhabited by Mayans who owned rich materials which the island was full of. Columbus then claimed possession of the territory for the King of Spain.
Olimpia is one of the biggest soccer clubs in Honduras.
It is also one of the highest-ranking soccer clubs in Central America in terms of matches played and victories. As of June 2020, Olimpia is up by 55 points, totaling to 1525 points in its history.
The Rhyncholaelia Digbyana is the national flower of Honduras.
This orchid was once called the Brassavola digbyana and replaced the Rose as the national flower in November 1969. This native flower species can also be found in Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
Originally, the Honduran botanist Jose Antonio Molina Rosito discovered the flower, which was eventually declared Flor Nacional de Honduras in November 26th, 1969.
Honduras’ most successful footballer is Winston Palacio.
This Honduran footballer plays midfield for Real Sociedad. He also previously played for the Olimpia and Victoria soccer clubs in Honduras before moving to England.
Winston Palacios has been a regular player for Honduras since 2003. He has also helped the country qualify for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Honduras celebrates Children’s Day annually.
Honduras annually celebrates Children’s Day on September 10th. Locals refer to the celebration as Dia de Los Ninos.
The concept of children’s day began in 1857 and was first recognized as an official holiday in 1920 by the Republic of Turkey.
The Republic of Honduras shares borders with several countries in Central America.
Honduras is bordered by the Caribbean sea and the North Pacific Ocean. It also shares its borders with Guatemala in the west, El Salvador in the southwest, and Nicaragua on the southeast borders.
Honduras typically has tropical climates.
The Republic of Honduras has three distinct topographical regions. The climate types of each three are different but commonly share a rainy tropical climate.
The Caribbean lowlands have tropical wet climates where it is consistently high in temperatures and humidity. In terms of weather, Honduras regularly experiences rainfall throughout the year.
Only one natural lake can be found in Honduras.
Lake Yojoa is the largest and only natural lake in Honduras. The surface area of the lake spans around 79 square kilometers, with an average depth of 15 meters.
The lake sits in a depression formed by several volcanoes. It is also a popular fishing spot among locals that also has a rich biodiversity of wildlife nearby.
As of 2012, the fertility rate of Honduras is five births per woman.
This has caused the country’s population to steadily rise until 2017, where a newly recorded statistic showed that the birth rate reduced to 2.50 births per woman. The infant mortality rate is also low with only 15.1 deaths per 1000 live babies born as of 2018.
The son of Honduras’s president was killed in 1997.
In 1997, Ricardo Ernesto, the son of Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, was kidnapped at the age of 25. Two days later, son’s body was found after being murdered.
The death of Maduro’s son drove him to pursue presidency, eventually being elected an official presidential candidate.
Honduran money was named after an Indian chief.
The legend states that the chief died protecting his lands from Spanish invaders. While his efforts were unsuccessful, he was still honored by using his name as the of the country.
He is also featured on the 1 Lempira note, as well as the 20 and 50 cent coins in their money.
Coffee serves as the leading export of Honduras.
Historically, coffee has always been Honduras’ leading export from the mid-2000s. In 2019, the country reportedly produced over 3.6 million bags of Arabica Coffee.
Honduras also makes up 4% of the world’s coffee market, which further proves how big it is in the coffee industry.
One of the most popular ingredients for dishes in Honduras is coconut milk.
One of the most notable dishes in Honduras is the Sopa de Caracol, which consists of large conch pieces cooked in coconut milk. Additional conch broth also adds to the dish, as well as other ingredients like cassava, spices, garlic, and chili.
Marriage under the age of 18 is banned in Honduras.
In 2017, Honduras passed a new law which prevented underaged children from being legally married. In line with this provision, the Honduran government increased the minimum age requirement from 16 to 18, and removed all exceptions for child marriage even with parental consent.
This was also a unanimous vote amongst the Honduran lawmakers. How’s that for reassuring Honduras facts?
Honduras has more than one capital city.
The Honduras constitution states that the country does not just have one, but two capitals. The most notably known one is the city of Tegucigalpa.
The second capital is a city called Comayaguela, which currently serves as a part of the Tegucigalpa Metropolitan Area.
The Cerro Las Minas is the highest point found in Honduras.
This mountain is located in the rugged and isolated area of the Lempira Department on the western side of the country. In 1987, the Honduran government established a national park for those who wish to visit the mountain.
Towering over the rest of the country, the Cerro Las Minas stands at an elevation of 9,420 feet and spans 6,788 feet.
Bats make up 50% of the mammal species in Honduras.
Honduras has a large population of native bats, who live in protected habitats. Two of these caves are located in western Honduras and are protected by law to preserve the country’s biodiversity.
Christianity is predominant in Honduras.
In 2017, it was recorded that 76% of the country’s population follows Christianity as their religion. The pre-Hispanic communities in Honduras were primarily polytheistic Mayans who followed Christianity when it was introduced by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century.
In recent years, many others began following other religious practices such as Catholicism, Jehovah’s Witness, and Mennonite.
Honduras is the first country in Central America to establish movie theatres.
The Rosario Mining Company established in San Juancito introduced the first cinemas in Honduras. This marks one of the earliest forms of public entertainment through the entirety of Central America. Definitely one of the cooler Honduras facts.
The Copan ruins make up the country’s biggest profits.
The construction for these ruins began with Copan’s 13th ruler, and was finished by its 15th successor in A.D 749. This landmark is considered one of Honduras largest and most popular tourist attractions that earn the majority of the country’s profits.
Several venomous snakes can be found in Honduras.
Honduras is home to several species of poisonous snakes. These include the rare palm pit viper, rattlesnakes, and moccasins.
The Patuca River is the longest found in the Republic of Honduras.
This river lies in the northeast of Honduras and is famed for being the longest river in all of Central America. It measures 500 kilometers long and spans 23,9000 square kilometers.
Sources:
https://facts.net/honduras-facts/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Honduras/Daily-life
https://www.istockphoto.com/video/flag-of-honduras-in-tegucigalpa-gm1218607686-356150855
