ity streets
Telecommunications:
broadcast stations - 3 AM, 4 FM, no TV; 2,000-line automatic telephone
exchange; no communications satellite systems

@Holy See (Vatican City), Defense Forces

Note:
defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted
at entrances to the Vatican City

@Honduras, Geography

Location:
Middle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones
of the World
Area:
total area:
112,090 sq km
land area:
111,890 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total 1,520 km, Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline:
820 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September
1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; ICJ referred the
maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca to an earlier agreement in
this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El
Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate:
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain:
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Natural resources:
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal,
fish
Land use:
arable land:
14%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
30%
forest and woodland:
34%
other:
20%
Irrigated land:
900 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the
clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation
and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper
land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining
activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of
freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams
natural hazards:
subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging
hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber

@Honduras,