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 fresh water) as well as
several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch
damage

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Honduras People

Population: 6,406,052

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.22% (male 1,381,823; female 1,322,684)

15-64 years: 54.21% (male 1,719,593; female 1,753,003)

65 years and over: 3.57% (male 108,271; female 120,678) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.43% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 31.94 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 30.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.35 years

male: 67.51 years

female: 71.28 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.15 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.92% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 63,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,200 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Honduran(s)

adjective: Honduran

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

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total populatio