Heard Island and McDonald Islands by RBD.ME

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Description Heard Island and McDonald Islands by rbd.me Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded.   Location Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua   Area - comparative slightly larger than Tennessee   Natural resources Heard Island and McDonald Islands timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower   Population Heard Island and McDonald Islands 7,989,415   Religions Heard Island and McDonald Islands Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%   Languages Spanish, Amerindian dialects   Education Heard Island and McDonald Islands expenditures 3.8% of GDP (1991)   Government Heard Island and McDonald Islands type democratic constitutional republic   Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain)   Heard Island and McDonald Islands Economy - overview Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, as well as high unemployment and underemployment. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably apparel, 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. Nearly half of Honduras's economic activity is directly tied to the US, with exports to the US equivalent to 30% of GDP and remittances for another 22%. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) came into force in 2006 and has helped foster investment, but physical and political insecurity may deter potential investors. The economy is expected to register marginally positive economic growth in 2010, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 60% of the population in poverty. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures from increasing public wages. Tegucigalpa lacks an IMF agreement; its Stand-By Agreement expired in April 2009 and former President ZELAYA's commitment to a fixed exchange rate undermined a follow-on.   Investment Heard Island and McDonald Islands 29.5% of GDP (2009 est.)   Industries Heard Island and McDonald Islands bananas, coffee, citrus, corn, African palm; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster   Airports Heard Island and McDonald Islands 658,500 (2008)