Honduras
Located in the heart of Central America, tropical Honduras was once part of Spain's vast New World empire and became an independent nation in 1821. More than 7 million people live here. The distribution of wealth is extremely imbalanced and unemployment rates are extremely high.
The economy relies heavily on a few agricultural exports, most notably bananas and coffee. In recent years, however, Honduras has experienced a significant increase in manufacturing, predominantly from U.S.-based companies establishing operations in the country.
After 25 years of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982 and has been successful at maintaining peace and some level of economic development until 2009, when unrest and a power transition again occurred. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed more than 5,500 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.



