Portal:Honduras
The Honduras Portal
Republic of Honduras República de Honduras (Spanish) | |
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ISO 3166 code | HN |
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa.
Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.
The nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The lower class is primarily agriculturally based while wealth is concentrated in the country's urban centers. Honduras has a Human Development Index of 0.625, classifying it as a nation with medium development. When adjusted for income inequality, its Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index is 0.443. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The effects of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras were destructive and deadly, resulting in the most significant flooding in Honduras in the 20th century. Hurricane Mitch, the strongest storm of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on October 22, and after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, it weakened and struck Honduras on October 29. While near peak intensity, Mitch struck the offshore Guanaja island, where it nearly destroyed the mangrove forest. On the mainland, the hurricane dropped torrential rainfall, and many gauges were washed away in mountainous areas where unofficial rainfall totals were as high as 1900 mm (75 in). The highest official total was 928 mm (36.5 in) at Choluteca in southern Honduras, which was more than half of the annual precipitation average there. The rains caused widespread flooding and landslides, although impact from winds was not as severe.
Then-President of Honduras, Carlos Roberto Flores, estimated that Mitch set back 50 years of economic development. The storm wrecked about 35,000 houses and damaged another 50,000, leaving up to 1.5 million people homeless, or about 20% of the country's population. Mitch directly caused $2.005 billion in damage, with an additional $1.8 billion in indirect costs. Most of the damage was ruined crops, and cash crop exports were cut by 9.4% in 1999, largely due to the storm. Over 70% of the transportation infrastructure was damaged, mostly damaged highways and bridges. Widespread areas experienced power outages, and about 70% of the country lost water after the storm. In the capital, Tegucigalpa, a large landslide affected three neighborhoods and formed a temporary dam. Floods in the city damaged buildings that were over 350 years old. Throughout the country, there were at least 7,000 fatalities, some reported in each department. (Full article...)Interesting facts -
- ... that while political analyst Aníbal Delgado Fiallos had been a staunch critic of Honduran president Manuel Zelaya's constitutional reform, he took part in the protests against Zelaya's ouster?
- ... that on May 14, 1980, Salvadoran forces massacred more than 300 civilians while Honduran soldiers prevented them from escaping across the border?
- ... that the bulk of the founders of the Socialist Party of Honduras had been members of the Christian Democratic Party?
- ... that Hurricane Michelle (pictured), a storm which took place in the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, caused numerous deaths and large-scale damage in Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua?
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List articles
- Departments of Honduras
- List of cathedrals in Honduras
- List of companies of Honduras
- List of ecoregions in Honduras
- List of football clubs in Honduras
- List of Honduran departments by Human Development Index
- List of Hondurans
- List of Honduras-related topics
- List of national parks of Honduras
- List of political parties in Honduras
- List of presidents of Honduras
- List of rivers of Honduras
- List of wars involving Honduras
- Municipalities of Honduras
- Outline of Honduras
- Timeline of Tegucigalpa
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- Honduras. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Honduras. World Bank Group.
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