Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Hong Kong
Merchant marine: total: 433 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,539,257
GRT/22,682,757 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 264, cargo 38,
chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 2, container 73, liquefied gas 8,
multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated
cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some
foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 5,
Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, China 115, Denmark 2, Germany 19,
Greece 2, India 8, Japan 8, Liberia 1, Malaysia 7, Norway 1, Panama 2,
Philippines 5, Singapore 7, South Korea 2, Taiwan 1, United Kingdom 27,
Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 (2001)
Heliports: 2 (2001)
Military Hong Kong
Military branches: no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong
garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) including elements
of the PLA Ground Forces, PLA Navy, and PLA Air Force; these forces are
under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing
and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,028,208 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,523,378
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 47,139
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of China
Transnational Issues Hong Kong
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: strenuous law enforcement efforts, but faces serious
challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to
regional and world markets; money laundering center; rising indigenous
use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Introduction Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Background: These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were
transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers
of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature
preserve.
Geography Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds
of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica
Geographic coordinates: 53 06 S, 72 31 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area: total: 412 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 412 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than two times the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 101.9 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated
by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald
Islands - small and rocky
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Southern Ocean 0 m highest point:
Big Ben 2,745 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island
Environment - current issues: NA
People Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Population: uninhabited (July 2002 est.)
Population growth rate: NA
Government Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Country name: conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and
McDonald Islands conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald
Islands
Dependency status: territory of Australia; administered from Canberra
by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment
and Heritage
Legal system: the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Australia)
Flag description: the flag of Australia is used
Economy Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Economy - overview: No indigenous economic activity, but the Australian
Government allows limited fishing around the islands.
Communications Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Internet country code: .hm
Transportation Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia
conducts fisheries patrols
Transnational Issues Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Honduras
Introduction
Honduras
Background: Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras
became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of
mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power
in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista
contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to
Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
Geography Honduras
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala
and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador
and Nicaragua
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total: 1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km,
El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore,
antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: 3% other: 82% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 760 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely
susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Environment - current issues: urban population expanding; deforestation
results from logging and the clearing of 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
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, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Geography -
note: has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline,
including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
People Honduras
Population: 6,560,608 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 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41.8% (male 1,400,778; female 1,340,834)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,774,619; female 1,806,568) 65 years and over:
3.6% (male 112,100; female 125,709) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.34% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 70.51 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 4.03 children born/woman (2002 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
population: 74% male: 74% female: 74.1% (1999)
Government Honduras
Country name: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Government
type: democratic constitutional republic
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos, singular -
departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes,
El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la
Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995
Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing
influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include
abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system;
accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO
(since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse
(since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE
LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto
DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government head of government: President
Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President
Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President
Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third
Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular
vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to
be held NA November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN)
elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
(128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes
their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005)
election results: PDC 4, PINU-SD 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia
(judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party or PDC
[Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD
[leader NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National
Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban
F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Raphael CALLEJAS]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Committee for the Defense of Human
Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH;
Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers
Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP;
National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union
of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran
Workers or FUTH
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer),
MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
honorary consulate(s): Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans,
New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa FAX:
[1] (202) 966-9751 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 chancery: Suite 4-M,
3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Frank ALMAGUER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453,
Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy,
[504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX:
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern
centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the
former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador,
which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL
SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar
to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the
word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom,
centered in the white band
Economy Honduras
Economy - overview: Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western
Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is
banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin
Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic
targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and
telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the
US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly
coffee, and on containment of the recent rise in crime.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18% industry: 32% services:
50% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 53% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.4%
highest 10%: 44.3% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 59 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.7% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.3 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45%
(2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $607 million expenditures: $411.9 million, including
capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.)
Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.573 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 36.89% hydro: 63.11%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 3.593 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 5 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 275 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp
Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc,
lumber
Exports - partners: US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium
5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000)
Imports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial
raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico
4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000)
Debt - external: $5.6 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $557.8 million (1999)
Currency: lempira (HNL)
Currency code: HNL
Exchange rates: lempiras per US dollar - 16.0256 (January 2002), 15.9197
(2001), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Honduras
Telephones - main lines in use: 234,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 14,427 (1997)
Telephone system: NA international: Central American Microwave System
Radio broadcast stations: AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)
Radios: 2.45 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 570,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .hn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)
Internet users: 40,000 (2000)
Transportation Honduras
Railways: total: 595 km narrow gauge: 318 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km
0.914-m gauge (2000)
Highways: total: 15,400 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 465 km (navigable by small craft)
Ports and harbors: La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo,
Tela, Puerto Lempira
Merchant marine: total: 284 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 749,243
GRT/846,942 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here
as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British
Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6,
El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1,
Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico
1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1,
Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore
24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and
Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6,
United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands
(UK) 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 166, chemical tanker
5, container 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3,
petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea
passenger 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1
Airports: 117 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: 2 914 to 1,523 m: Airports - with unpaved
runways: total: 105 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m:
83 (2001)
Military Honduras
Military branches: Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,563,174 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 930,718
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 72,335
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $35 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.6% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Honduras
Disputes - international: Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast
of Belize; El Salvador disputes tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the
Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El
Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication
in 1992; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca,
the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua
Mixed Boundary Commission and advised a tripartite resolution among
El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Nicaragua filed a claim against
Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed
maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including
the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit
producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally
for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; vulnerable to
money laundering
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Howland Island
Introduction
Howland Island
Background: Discovered by the US early in the 19th century, the island
was officially claimed by the US in 1857. Both US and British companies
mined for guano until about 1890. Earhart Light is a day beacon near
the middle of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World
War II, but has since been rebuilt; it is named in memory of the famed
aviatrix Amelia EARHART. The island is administered by the US Department
of the Interior as a National Wildlife Refuge.
Geography Howland Island
Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way
between Hawaii and Australia
Geographic coordinates: 0 48 N, 176 38 W
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 1.6 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 1.6 sq km
Area - comparative: about three times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 6.4 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a
narrow fringing reef; depressed central area
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location 3 m
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s), terrestrial
and aquatic wildlife
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
be a maritime hazard
Environment - current issues: no natural fresh water resources
Geography - note: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines,
and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center; primarily
a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds,
and marine wildlife
People Howland Island
Population: uninhabited note: American civilians evacuated in 1942
after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by
US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public
entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only
and generally restricted to scientists and educators; visited annually
by US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2002 est.)
Population growth rate: NA
Government Howland Island
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Howland Island
Dependency status: unincorporated territory of the US; administered from
Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Legal system: the laws of the US, where applicable, apply
Flag description: the flag of the US is used
Economy Howland Island
Economy - overview: no economic activity
Transportation Howland Island
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one
small boat landing area along the middle of the west coast
Airports: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop
on the round-the-world flight of Amelia EARHART and Fred NOONAN - they
left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again;
the airstrip is no longer serviceable
Transportation - note: Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle
of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World War II, but
has since been rebuilt; named in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia EARHART
Military Howland Island
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited
annually by the US Coast Guard