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Country Overview: Honduras shares borders with Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. To the north lies the Caribbean and to the south the Pacific Ocean. The interior of the country comprises a central mountain system, cut by rivers flowing into both the Caribbean and Pacific. The lowlands in the south form a plain along the Pacific coast. The large fertile valleys of the northern Caribbean lowlands are cultivated with banana plantations. Tegucigalpa, the capital, was originally founded as a mining camp in 1524. Visitors should visit the city's impressive parks, particularly Concordia, where models of Copan's Mayan architecture are displayed. La Ceiba is a major banana port, looking to tourism as a future major industry. There are good hotels and beaches, and an international airport, one of the city's major assets. Trujillo was once a thriving port but today offers old Spanish buildings, a fascinating pirate history and superb tropical beaches. Local dishes include curiles (seafood), tortillas, frijoles, enchiladas and mondongo. There are cinemas, nightclubs and some discotheques in the main cities.
 eneral Information
| Area |
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112,492 sq km (43,433 sq miles). |
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| Population |
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6,338,272 (1997). |
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| Population Density |
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56.3 per sq km. |
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| Capital |
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Tegucigalpa. Population: 897,000 (1996). |
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| Geography |
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Honduras shares borders in the southeast with Nicaragua, in the west with Guatemala, and in the southwest with El Salvador. To the north lies the Caribbean and to the south the Pacific Ocean. The interior of the country comprises a central mountain system running from east to west, cut by rivers flowing into both the Caribbean and Pacific. The lowlands in the south form a plain along the Pacific coast. The Gulf of Fonseca in the southwest contains many islands which have volcanic peaks. The large fertile valleys of the northern Caribbean lowlands are cultivated with banana plantations. However, large areas of land in Honduras are unsuitable for cultivation. The majority of the population lives in the western half of the country, while the second-largest concentration of people is in the Cortés area which extends northwards from Lake Yojoa towards the Caribbean. |
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| Government |
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Republic. Head of State and Government: President Ricardo Maduro Joest since 2002. |
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| Language |
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The official language is Spanish. English is widely spoken by the West Indian settlers in the north and on the Bay Islands off the Caribbean coast. |
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| Religion |
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Roman Catholic majority. |
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| Time |
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GMT - 6. |
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| Electricity |
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110/120/220 volts AC, 60Hz. |
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| Communications |
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| Telephone |
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IDD is available. Country code: 504. Outgoing international code: 00. |
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| Mobile telephone |
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Celtel is the main network provider (website: www.celtel.net). No GSM network exists at present. ****Arreglar esto****** |
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| Fax |
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Empresa Hondureña de Telecomunicaciones (HONDUTEL) offers a service. |
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| Internet |
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ISPs include Hondudata (website: www.hondudata.com) and NetSys (website: www.netsys.hn). E-mail can be accessed in cybercafés in major towns. |
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| Telegram |
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Ordinary and letter telegrams (minimum 22 words) may be sent. |
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| Post |
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Airmail to Western Europe takes between four and seven days. Post office hours: Mon-Sat 0800-1200 and 1400-1800. |
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| Press |
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Daily newspapers are in Spanish, and include El Heraldo, La Prensa, La Tribuna and El Tiempo. The weekly Honduras This Week is published in English. |
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| BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies |
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From time to time these change. |
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| BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) |
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