Honduras in 1998 was a small Central American nation located on the Caribbean coast. It had a population of approximately 5.9 million people and was divided into 18 departments. The capital city of Tegucigalpa served as the nation’s political, economic, and cultural center. See dentistrymyth for Honduras in the year of 2015.
The economy of Honduras in 1998 was largely dependent on agriculture, with coffee, bananas, and sugar being its main exports. Unfortunately, this industry was plagued by low international prices and limited access to markets. As a result, poverty levels were high with over half of the population living below the poverty line and unemployment rates reaching up to 40%. Education levels were also low due to lack of resources; only about one third of children had access to formal schooling.
The political situation in 1998 was relatively stable despite ongoing tensions between different ethnic groups which had previously led to civil unrest in 1980s and 1990s. In response, the government implemented policies aimed at promoting national unity through increased investment in infrastructure projects as well as education reform initiatives such as free primary school education for all children. Despite these efforts however, much work still needed to be done in order for Honduras’ citizens to experience real economic and social development.
Yearbook 1998
Honduras. In January, newly elected Liberal President Carlos Roberto Flores installed his government after the end of 1997 elections.
During the year, Congress approved a constitutional amendment that shifts power over the army from the commander-in-chief to the Department of Defense, which triggered both protests from parts of the army and the coup dot. At the same time, it was announced that the amnesty issued in 1990 for guerrilla members would also include militants who committed human rights violations during the 1980s.
According to Countryaah, the capital of Honduras is Tegucigalpa. The Honduran government confirmed suspicions that workers on American banana plantations have become sterile after contact with the plant poison Nemagón. The victims started legal proceedings to demand, among other things, American Standard Fruit for damages. Shortly thereafter, union leader Medardo Reyes and his son were murdered. They both worked for the banana workers’ right. The number of politically motivated crimes and assaults increased during the year.
This year’s extensive forest fires destroyed more than 1,500 km2 of the country’s forests. It led, among other things. to the capital of Tegucigalpa’s international airport had to be closed for several weeks due to smoke and fog.
- Abbreviationfinder: What does HND stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of Honduras.
In October, H. was hit by the most severe natural disaster of the century when Hurricane Mitch advanced and devastated nearly half the country. 9,000 people were killed and more than half a million lost their homes. Large parts of the capital were destroyed by floods and landslides. Most of H’s banana plantations were also destroyed.
Economic conditions
After the troubled eighties, characterized by bitter social and political conflicts, marked by continuous violations of human rights and criminal actions against political and union leaders, the internal situation has gradually improved. The timid signs of economic recovery that have characterized the last few years continue to be contrasted with serious structural difficulties, such as a marked inflationary process as well as a heavy foreign debt which in 1997 amounted to 86 % of GDP. The distribution of the active population by sector of economic activity confirms a weakness in the secondary sector and the important role of agriculture, which is essentially linked to exports (in particular bananas, coffee, sugar cane and cotton).
The socio-economic indicators outline the scenario of extreme hardship faced by the majority of the Honduran population, especially the rural one: 64 % of families live in poverty, 36 % have no access to drinking water, 38 % do not have of toilets, the share of illiterate people is 27 %, 54 % of children between 10 and 18 do not attend school, infant mortality still reaches 36 ‰ and children under 5 with malnutrition make up 57 % of the total.
There are strong territorial imbalances, since in the north-western departments these indicators tend to worsen, particularly in the mountainous areas along the border with El Salvador (including the departments of Lentira, Intibucá, La Paz) and in the southern Atlantic side (Mosquitia). Further massive interventions would be needed to improve the health and social conditions, the education and vocational training sector, agricultural infrastructures, as well as road communications, which are still completely unsatisfactory. Crucial problems are also encountered in terms of environmental remediation, in particular there is a need for reforestation and protection of agricultural soil and the regulation of the use of renewable resources.