Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.983 (2008 est.), 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%
4.060%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
110
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
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
112,090 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
820 km
19,924 km
Climate
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
