mber of structural reforms including passage
of a modern financial sector reform law in 1995 and a central bank
reform law in 1996. As a result, Honduras finished 1997 with improved
GDP growth and a decreasing rate of inflation. The newly elected
FLORES administration faces pressure from the international financial
community and the IMF to further decrease the fiscal deficit and
implement key reforms, including the privatization of state
enterprises such as Hondutel. Tegucigalpa will probably implement
tighter fiscal and monetary policies to keep inflation low and meet
commitments to the IMF. This may slow GDP growth to 3.5% in 1998.
Moreover, wage increases for public-sector employees, agreed to in
1997, will make it difficult for FLORES to make headway on the fiscal
deficit and inflation.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$12.7 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.5% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$2,200 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 19%
services: 61% (1997)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 15% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
total: 1.3 million (1997 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%,
construction 3%, other 6% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 6.3% (1997); underemployed 30% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $655 million
expenditures: $850 million, including capital expenditures of $150
million (1997 est.)

Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1992 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 305,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 2.8 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 516 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp;

Exports:
total value: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber
partners: US 54%, Germany 7%, Belgium 5%, Japan 4%, Spain 3% (1995)

Imports:
total value: $1.8 billion (c.i.f. 1996)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw
materials, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil,
foodstuffs
partners: US 43%, Guatemala 5%, Japan 5%, Germany 4%, Mexico 3%, El
Salvador 3% (1995)

Debt-external: $4.1 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1 (end of period)-13.1332 (January
1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996), 1