, 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,
Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
Climate Change

@Honduras:People

Population: 5,459,743 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (female 1,159,846; male 1,201,927)
15-64 years: 53% (female 1,468,950; male 1,444,959)
65 years and over: 4% (female 95,361; male 88,700) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.66% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 34.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 43.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.04 years
male: 65.64 years
female: 70.55 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%,
black 2%, white 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages: Spanish, Indian dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 73%
male: 76%
female: 71%

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

@Honduras:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short form: Honduras

Digraph: HO

Type: republic

Capital: Tegucigalpa

Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos, singular -
departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes,
El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la
Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle,
Yoro

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of
English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President C