Federal President (rotating): Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (until 1 Jan 2013)
Population
8,296,693
7,925,517
Life Expectancy
70.710 years
81.170 years
Capital City
Tegucigalpa
Bern
Largest city
Tegucigalpa (population: 850,848)
Zurich (population: 341,730)
Human Development Index
0.714
0.955
GDP per capita
$4,400 US
$43,900 US
Literacy Rate
80%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
2.6
9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
23.4%
27.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Ernesto Bertarelli ($8.2bn US)
Unemployment Rate
4.800%
3.100%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
democratic constitutional republic
formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)
Religions
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census)
Languages
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census) note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages
lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.983 (2008 est.), 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004)
Swiss francs (CHF) per US dollar - 1.0774 (2008 est.), 1.1973 (2007), 1.2539 (2006), 1.2452 (2005), 1.2435 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
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
Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
Area
112,090 km sq
41,277 km sq
Coastline
820 km
0 km
Climate
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
