NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA
CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western
Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy,
accounts for nearly 30% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and
produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Industry,
still in its early stages, employs nearly 9% of the labor force,
accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service
sectors, including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and
employ nearly 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the
economy include rapid population growth, high unemployment, sharply
increased inflation, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient
public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee
and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. Despite
government efforts at reform and large-scale foreign assistance, the
economy still is unable to take advantage of its sizable natural
resources.

_#_GDP: $4.9 billion, per capita $960; real growth rate -1.0% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35.2% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 15% unemployed, 30-40% underemployed (1989)

_#_Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion,
including capital expenditures of $511 million (1990 est.)

_#_Exports: $939 million (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, lumber;

partners--US 52%, FRG 11%, Japan, Italy, Belgium

_#_Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1990);

commodities--machinery and transport equipment, chemical products,
manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs;

partners--US 39%, Japan 9%, CACM, Venezuela, Mexico

_#_External debt: $2.8 billion (1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989); accounts for
15% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 668,000 kW capacity; 2,023 million kWh produced,
380 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles,
clothing, wood products

_#_Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for nearly 30% of
GDP, over 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal
products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp;
importer of wheat

_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on
small plots and used principally for local consumption; transshipment
point for cocaine