Demographics of Honduras

About 91% of the population is mestizo. There also are small minorities of European, African, Asian, Arab, and indigenous Indian descent. Most Hondurans are Roman Catholic, but Protestant proselytization has resulted in significant numbers of converts. The Spanish language is the predominant language, although (pidgin) English is spoken along the northern coast and in the Caribean Islas de la Bahía department. Indigenous Indian dialects and the Garifuna dialect also are spoken.

Population: 7.1 million (UN, 2004). 6,249,598 Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 1,361,259; female 1,303,041)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,665,406; female 1,699,680)
65 years and over: 3% (male 104,469; female 115,743) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.52% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 32.65 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 5.31 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 31.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.93 years
male: 67.91 years
female: 72.06 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.26 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran

Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian-European and African) 91%, Amerindian 7%, Arab, black, white 2%

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages: Spanish, Amerindian dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 72.7%
male: 72.6%
female: 72.7% (1995 est.)

Article based on text from the CIA World Factbook