Simple directory > Regional > Honduras

Country : Honduras Official name: República de Honduras (Republic of Honduras) Head of State: President Ricardo Maduro Joest (inaugurated 27 Jan 2002) Head of government: President Ricardo Maduro Joest Ruling party: Partido Nacional (PN) (National Party) (elected 25 Nov 2001) Area: 112,088 square km Population: 6.94 million (2004) Capital: Tegucigalpa Official language: Spanish Currency: Lempira (L) = 100 centavos Exchange rate: L18.53 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$997 (2003) GDP real growth: 2.00% (2003) Labour force: 2.30 million (2003) Unemployment: 27.50% (2003) Inflation: 6.80% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$1.60 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$5.40 billion (2003)

Historical profile

1821 The Central American provinces (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) declared independence from Spain.

1822 Central American confederation annexed itself to the Mexican Empire, under General Agustín de Iturbde, later Emperor Agustín I.

1823 Agustín I was overthrown and Mexico became a republic. The Central American states formed the United Provinces of Central America.

1825 Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador formed the Central American Federation (CAF).

1838 The CAF was dissolved and Honduras became a fully independent republic.

1840–1957 Honduras was ruled by a military and civilian élite.

1957 The first democratic presidential election was won by Ramon Villeda Morales, a popular moderate reformist.

1963 Morales was ousted by Colonel Osvaldo Lopez Arellano in a military coup. Military rule continued until 1980.

1969 Honduras and El Salvador fought what became known as the 'soccer war', which was prompted by land disputes and El Salvador's win in the World Cup play-offs between the two countries. Over 3,000 people died.

1981 Presidential elections were won by Roberto Suazo Cordova of the Partido Liberal de Honduras (PLH) (Liberal Party of Honduras), although real power remained in the hands of the army under General Gustavo Alvarez.

1985 José Azcona Hoyo (PLH) won the presidential election, following a change in the constitution which limited the presidency to a maximum of one term.

1989 Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero of the Partido Nacional (PN) (National Party), the right-wing opposition party, was elected president.

1993 Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez (PLH) won the presidential election.

1997 Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé (PLH) was elected president.

1998 Honduras was severely affected by Hurricane Mitch – around 11,000 people were killed and 1.3 million left homeless.

1999 The constitution was amended to make the president the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

2001 Ricardo Maduro Joest (PN) was elected president and the PN won the legislative elections.

2002 Persistent drought and the decline in world coffee prices left around 300,000 Hondurans suffering from hunger. In January, Honduras renewed diplomatic ties with Cuba, with whom it had broken relations in 1961.

2003 After prisoners rioted, the government was accused of overcrowding prisons without solving the crime epidemic.

2004 In May, more than 100 prisoners, many of them gang members, were killed in a fire at San Pedro Sula.

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