Honduras Facts for Kids

Honduras also known as the Republic of Honduras, it is bordered by Guatemala to the west, Nicaragua to the southeast, El Salvado to the southwest, Gulf of Honduras to the north, Pacific Ocean to the south at the fonseca gulf. Honduras is referred to as Spanish Honduras because modern day Belize used to be called Britain Honduras.

The country’s total land area is 112,491 sq km (43,433 sq miles)
The capital city is called Tegucigalpa which is also the largest city.
The total population of the country is 9,112,867.
The official language is Spanish.

The country gained independence on September 15, 1821 from Spain.
The nation anthem is “Himno Nacional de Honduras” (National anthem of Honduras).
The national bird is the Scarlet Macaw, the national animal is the white tailed deer
The national flower is the orchid and the national motto is “Libre, Soberana e independiente” (free, sovereign and independent).
The people of Honduras are called Honduran with the major religion being Roman Catholic with small fraction of Muslims, Jews, Buddhist and Rastafarians.
The currency used is called Lempira (HNL).
The natural resources of the country include antimony, fish, timber, coal, copper, lead, iron ore, shrimp, hydropower, silver and gold.
The major industries are coffee, sugar, apparel, wood products, woven and knit and cigars.
The country makes $8.173 billion (est. in 2017) on exportation of coffee, cigars, palm oil, fruit, bananas, shrimp, lobster, apparel, automobile wire harnesses and gold while it spends $10.87 billion (est. in 2017) on importation of foodstuffs, chemical products, fuels, industrial raw material and machinery and transport equipment.
During his visit to the bay islands, in 1502; the first ever European explorer to discover Honduras was Christopher Columbus, he landed in the coast of Honduras.
The highest murder rate in the world is held by Honduras. The country is also known for carjacking, kidnapping and highway assaults. People of kidnapped victims normally do not report the case of kidnapping to the police out of fear but will rather pay the ransom. There is also a major issue of femicide and sexual violence against women in the country; prostitution and human trafficking are also forced on many women.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch was recorded as the biggest and second deadliest Atlantic hurricane after the 1780 Great hurricane of Antilles. The destruction and tragedies caused by the Hurricane Mitch was so much that all the banana crop and 80% of rice harvest were destroyed with 11,000 people being killed that day and homes, bridges and roads being destroyed causing the total loss estimate to be at $3 billion.
There are many species of plants and animals in the country with up to 700 species of birds. Honduras is home to two species of deer, one is the national animal the white-tailed deer.
Honduras has the first cinema ever to open in Central America.
After Australia, the country with the second most coral reefs in the world is Honduras.
Coconut milk is commonly used by the people when cooking in Honduras; it is used for savory and sweet dishes.

Smoking in your own home was banned in the country of Honduras, it was the first country to do so and a law was introduced which states that you must stand atleast 2 metres away from non smokers when you smoke.
A festival called La feria Ishidra is the national holiday, it is on May 15th and celebrated for the memory of the patron saint. The celebration last a week and begins a week before the day and every night till the day of the celebration, a carnival takes place in the plazas and neighbourhoods every night.
Children’s day or Dia Del Nino is celebrated on 10th September, it is celebrated like it’s their birthday where they get presents and have parties. The day is celebrated as a way to recognize childhood and youth importance
El Salvador started a war with Honduras on July 14th 1969, the war was called the football war as the dispute was thought to be over football but in essence, a land was the main cause issue and conflict between the two countries. The war is also called the 100 hour war because it lasted for less than 100 hours with July 18th 1969 being the date the war stopped, El Salvador then officially withdrawn its army on the 20th of July 1969. Honduras and El Salvador eventually signed a peace treaty on the 30th of October 1980.