Honduras is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America. In the 1960s it was the Poorest nation of the region, but aftre the Earthquake in 1972 that devestated Managua, and the two wars that followed ( the first being the one in between the Sandinistas and Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the second being in between the Sandinistas and the Contras ; Nicaragua became the poorest of Central America's modern nations. The economy is based mostly on agriculture, which accounted for 22% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 1999. Leading export coffee ($340 million) accounted for 22% of total Honduran export revenues. Bananas, formerly the country's second-largest export until being virtually wiped out by 1998's Hurricane Mitch, recovered in 2000 to 57% of pre-Mitch levels. Cultivated shrimp are another important export sector. Honduras has extensive forest, marine, and mineral resources, although widespread slash and burn agricultural methods continue to destroy Honduran forests. Unemployment is estimated at around 4.0%, though underemployment is much higher. The Honduran economy grew 4.8% in 2000, recovering from the Mitch-induced recession (-1.9%) of 1999. The economy is expected to grow 4-5% in 2001, led by continuation of foreign-funded reconstruction projects. The Honduran maquiladora sector, the second-largest in the world, continued its strong performance in 2000, providing employment to over 120,000 and generating more than $528 million in foreign exchange for the country. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was 10.1% in 2000, down slightly from the 10.9% recorded in 1999. The country's international reserve position continued to be strong in 2000, at slightly over $1 billion. Remittances from Hondurans living abroad (mostly in the US) rose 28% to $410 million in 2000. The lempira (currency) has only moderately devalued. The category of least developed countries (LDCs) is a social/economic classification status applied to around 50 countries around the world by political scientists and economists through the United Nations. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... Anastasio Somoza Debayle (December 5, 1925–September 17, 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and then from 1974 to 1979. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... The Contras (from the Spanish term La Contra, short for movement of the contrarrevolucionarios, meaning counter-revolutionaries) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the ending of the Somoza familys 43-year rule. ... In economics, gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the value of economic production of a particular territory in financial capital terms during a specified period. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Jump to: navigation, search Coffee beans and a cup of coffee Coffee as a drink, usually served hot, is prepared from the roasted seeds (beans) of the coffee plant. ... Species Hybrid origin; see text A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly a herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ... Superfamilies and families Alpheoidea Alpheidae - snapping shrimps Barbouriidae Hippolytidae Ogyrididae Atyoidea Atyidae Bresilioidea Agostocarididae Alvinocarididae Bresiliidae Disciadidae Mirocarididae Campylonotoidea Bathypalaemonellidae Campylonotoidae Crangonoidea Crangonidae Glyphocrangonidea Galatheacaridoidea Galatheacarididae Nematocarcinoidea Eugonatonotidae Nematocarcinidae Rhynchocinetidae Xiphocarididae Oplophoroidea Oplophoridae Palaemonoidea Anchistioididae Desmocarididae Euryrhynchidae Gnathophyllidae Hymenoceridae Kakaducarididae Palaemonidae Typhlocarididae Pandaloidea Pandalidae Thalassocarididae Pasiphaeoidea Pasiphaeidae Procaridoidea Procarididae Processoidea... A dense growth of softwoods (a forest) in the Sierra Nevada Range of Northern California A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded area set aside for hunting). ... Marine biology is the study of animal and plant life within waterbound ecosystems. ... This article is about minerals in the geologic sense; for nutrient minerals see dietary mineral; for the band see Mineral (band). ... Resources comprise the base material for an activity or industry: factors of production, the economics term human capital, human resources (HR) and innovation natural resources resource (computer science) resource (Web) resource (Windows) resource (Macintosh) resource (political) resource (project management) Resource Distribution, human influence and the effects of trade. ... Slash and burn agriculture (also known more neutrally as shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is a agricultural system widely used in forested areas. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California during the Great Depression. ... In economics, the term underemployment has at least three different meanings. ... A maquiladora (or maquila) is a factory, the majority of which are located in Mexican border towns, that imports materials and equipment on a duty- and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing. ... The word billion and its equivalents in other languages refer to one of two different numbers. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ... Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency. ...

The country signed an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) -- later converted to a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) with the International Monetary Fund in March 1999. While Honduras continues to maintain stable macroeconomic policies, it has lagged in implementing structural reforms, such as privatization of the publicly-owned telephone and energy distribution companies. Honduras received significant debt relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, including the suspension bilateral debt service payments and bilateral debt reduction by the Paris Club -- including the U.S. -- worth over $400 million. In July 2000, Honduras reached its decision point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), qualifying the country for interim multilateral debt relief. The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ...

GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.1 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -3% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,050 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 25%
services: 55% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: 50% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.1% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 2.3 million (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 29%, industry 21%, services 60% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 12% (1999); underemployed 30% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $980 million
expenditures: $1.15 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate: 9% (1992 est.)

Electricity - production: 2,904 GWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 34.44%
hydro: 65.56%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 2,742 GWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 16 GWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 57 GWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber

Exports - partners: US 73%, Japan 4%, Germany 4%, Belgium, Spain (1998)

Imports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners: US 60%, Guatemala 5%, Netherlands Antilles, Japan, Germany, Mexico, El Salvador (1998)

Debt - external: $4.4 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient: $557.8 million (1999)

Currency: 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos The lempira (ISO 4217 code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. ...

Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1 - 14.5744 (January 2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997), 12.8694 (1996), 10.3432 (1995) .... 1.00 (1980)