Social Economic Facts
Economy
Honduras is one of the poorest developing countries in the Western Hemisphere and the second poorest in Central America. Even though the economy of Honduras has improved since 2010, it is still in sufficient to improve the living conditions of 65% of the population below poverty. The GDP world rank of Honduras is 114th nominating and its GDP per capita is around 5,000 dollars. Comparing to the neighboring countries, it is above Nicaragua’s 2,300 dollars, but below both Guatemala and El Salvador each of the around 500 dollars above Honduras. Honduras relies on two major exports, bananas and coffee. In 1998, during Hurricane Mitch, the banana industry was nearly wiped out. Since the 2000s the industry has recovered by 60%. Having little major exports the country is dependent of world prices and United States is the destination of most exports. In recent years Honduras has increased exports of wire harnessing. The major imports of Honduras are refined petroleum, cotton yarn, and machinery coming from the United States, China, and the neighboring countries, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. There are three main ways labor is split in Honduras. Agriculture makes up 39.2% of the labor force even though only 15% of the land can be used. In the past 20 years because of the decline in banana and coffee export the sector lost 1.3 of its earning power. Manufacturing employs roughly 20% of the population and between 1990 - 1998 the number of workers grew frem 9,000 to 120,000. Many plants are located in urban areas od San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. Finally, around 40% of the population works in this industry, including transportation and tourism. The sector makes up around 57.8% of the country’s income. Tourism is one of the fastes growing industries and is enhanced by Honduras’ pristine natural attractions. Honduras still has lots of area of growth in terms of its economy (McGaffey et al. 47-55).
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About the Flag
In 1838 Honduras had already separated itself from the United Provinces even though it still used the federation flag. From 1840 to 1862 the country was plagued with civil wars and invasions. In the following years after 1862, the country decided to focus more on proper national symbolism. Then in 1866, it was decided that the flag would maintain the blue-white-blue flag but with a new central symbol. The chosen design was five blue stars, symbolizing the five members of the former United Provinces of Central America. Additionally, the c oat of arms would be added to the flag when flown by a naval warship (Britannica). The two horizontal bands on the top and the bottom each represent the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The white band represents the land in between, Honduras, and the peace and prosperity of its people (CIA World Factbook).