Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras
local short form: Honduras
etymology: the name means "depths" in Spanish and refers to the deep anchorage in the northern Bay of Trujillo

Government type:
presidential republic

Capital:
name: Tegucigalpa; note - article eight of the Honduran constitution states that the twin cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela, jointly, constitute the capital of the Republic of Honduras; however, virtually all governmental institutions are on the Tegucigalpa side, which in practical terms makes Tegucigalpa the capital
geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
 

Administrative divisions:
18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:
history: several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
amendments: proposed by the National Congress with at least two-thirds majority vote of the membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Congress in its next annual session; constitutional articles, such as the form of government, national sovereignty, the presidential term, and the procedure for amending the constitution, cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2015; note - the 2015 amendment struck down several constitutional articles on presidential term limits (2018)

Legal system:
civil law system

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 1 to 3 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Maria RIVERA, and Olga ALVARADO (since 26 January 2018); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (since 27 January 2014); Vice Presidents Ricardo ALVAREZ, Maria RIVERA, and Olga ALVARADO (since 26 January 2018)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term; election last held on 26 November 2017 (next to be held in November 2021); note - in 2015, the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court struck down the constitutional provisions on presidential term limits
election results: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president; percent of vote Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza de Oposicion conta la Dictadura) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other .9%

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2017 (next to be held on 28 November 2021)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNH 47.7%, LIBRE 23.4%, PL 20.3%, AP 3.1%, PINU 3.1%, DC 0.8%, PAC 0.8%, UD 0.8%; seats by party - PNH 61, LIBRE 30, PL 26, AP 4, PINU 4, DC 1, PAC 1, UD 1; composition - men 101, women 27, percent of women 21.1%

Judicial branch:
highest courts: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges, including the court president, and 7 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor chambers); note - the court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction
judge selection and term of office: court president elected by his peers; judges elected by the National Congress from candidates proposed by the Nominating Board, a diverse 7-member group of judicial officials and other government and non-government officials nominated by each of their organizations; judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year terms
subordinate courts: courts of appeal; courts of first instance; justices of the peace

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance against the Dictatorship or Alianza de Oposicion conta la Dictadura [Salvador NASRALLA] (electoral coalition)
Anti-Corruption Party or PAC [Marlene ALVARENGA]
Christian Democratic Party or DC [Lucas AGUILERA]
Democratic Unification Party or UD [Alfonso DIAZ]
Freedom and Refoundation Party or LIBRE [Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales]
Honduran Patriotic Alliance or AP [Romeo VASQUEZ Velasquez]
Liberal Party or PL [Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano]
National Party of Honduras or PNH [Reinaldo SANCHEZ Rivera]
Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Guillermo VALLE]

International organization participation:
BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Ambassador Maria Dolores AGUERO (since 16 September 2019)
chancery: Suite 700, 1250 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702
FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Dallas, McAllen (TX)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Colleen A. HOEY (since August 2019)
telephone: [504] 2236-9320, 2238-5114
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa M.D.C.
mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
FAX: [504] 2236-9037

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of cerulean blue (top), white, and cerulean blue, with five cerulean, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water and the peace and prosperity of its people
note: similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

National symbol(s):
scarlet macaw, white-tailed deer; national colors: blue, white

National anthem:
name: "Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)
lyrics/music: Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING
note: adopted 1915; the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history; on official occasions, only the chorus and last verse are sung