Economy - overview Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.Agriculture employs nearly two-thirds of the labor force and produces two-thirdsof exports. Productivity remains low. Manufacturing, mining, and constructionaccount for 30 % of GDP and generate 20% of exports. Basic problems includerapid population growth, high underemployment, inflation, a lack of basicservices, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of theexport sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp pricefluctuations.

GDP purchasing power parity - $11.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : 28%
industry: 30%
services: 42% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 25.4% (1996)

Labor force
total: 1.3 million
by occupation: agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other6% (1985)

Unemployment rate 15%; underemployed about 40% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues: $655 million
expenditures: $850 million, including capital expenditures of $150 million (1997 est.)

Industries sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate 10% (1992 est.)

Electricity - capacity 605,900 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 2.742 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 361 kWh (1995 est.)

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

Exports
total value: $2.401 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber
partners : US 65%, Germany 7%, Japan 7%, Spain 3%, Belgium 2%

Imports
total value: $3.133 billion (c.i.f. 1996)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemicalproducts, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs
partners : US 50%, Guatemala 5%, Japan 5%, Mexico 3%, El Salvador 3%

Debt - external $4.6 billion (1995)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates lempiras (L) per US$1 (end of period) - 13.0330 (January 1997), 12.8694(1996), 10.3432 (1995), 9.4001 (1994), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Honduras on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Honduras Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Honduras Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.