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The Economy of Honduras

Honduran Economy

Honduras' map

Economy - overview: Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, has an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and high unemployment. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices; however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Economic growth remains dependent on the US economy its largest trading partner, and will decline in 2009 as a result of reduction in export demand and tightening global credit markets. Remittances represent over a quarter of GDP or nearly three-quarters of exports. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) came into force in 2006 and has helped foster investment. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2008 est.) 6.3% (2007 est.) 6.3% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13.4% industry: 28.2% services: 58.5% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 42.2% (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 53.8 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 2.892 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 39.2% industry: 20.9% services: 39.8% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 27.8% (2007 est.)

Budget: revenues: $2.628 billion expenditures: $3.183 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2008 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production: 5.753 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 4.233 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 11.8 million kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 46,830 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports: 417.9 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 44,040 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm

Exports: $6.236 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber

Exports - partners: US 67.2%, El Salvador 4.9%, Guatemala 3.9% (2007)

Imports: $10.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

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

Imports - partners: US 52.4%, Guatemala 7.1%, El Salvador 5.2%, Mexico 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.2% (2007)

Debt - external: $3.602 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.983 (2008 est.), 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004)

Fiscal year: