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Country Background
 Located in Central America, Honduras is bordered to the south by Nicaragua and El Salvador and to the west by Guatemala. Slightly larger than Tennessee, Honduras has a population of more than 6 million people, roughly 1 million more than Tennessee. Sixty percent of the population lives in urban areas.
Christopher Columbus landed at mainland Honduras in 1502. He named it Honduras (depths) for the deep water off the northern coast. Hernan Cortes, who arrived in 1524, began founding settlements along the coast. Along with the other Central American provinces, Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821. Since that time, Honduras has experienced nearly 300 internal rebellions, civil wars and changes of government - more than half occurring during this century. In 1992, following decades of military rule, the Reina Administration increased civilian control over the armed forces, giving balance to a constitutional democracy. Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse took office on January 27, 1998.
Before Hurricane Mitch struck in late October of 1998, Honduras had been experiencing strong annual growth rates. However, the storm dramatically changed economic forecasts for the country, already one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere and the hardest hit by Mitch. Honduras sustained approximately $6 billion in damages and a subsequent rise in unemployment. In 1998, the country's gross domestic product per capita (GDP per capita) was $806 and is predicted to drop by 2 percent this year.
For the most part, Honduras' terrain consists of rugged mountains - which means there is little land available for cultivation - cut by rivers flowing into the Caribbean to the north and into the Pacific to the south. Agriculture, however, is responsible for a quarter of Honduras' economic output and employs nearly two-thirds of the workforce. The large fertile valleys of the northern Caribbean lowlands are cultivated with banana plantations. The country's main exports include coffee, bananas, shrimp, citrus fruits, textile products and lumber.
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