Honduras People - 2021

Population

9,346,277 (July 2021 est.)

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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected

Nationality

noun: Honduran(s)

adjective: Honduran

Ethnic groups

Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, African descent 2%, White 1%

Languages

Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

printed major-language sample:
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 41%, atheist 1%, other 2%, none 9% (2014 est.)

Demographic profile

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and has one of the world's highest murder rates. More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region. Poverty rates are higher among rural and indigenous people and in the south, west, and along the eastern border than in the north and central areas where most of Honduras' industries and infrastructure are concentrated. The increased productivity needed to break Honduras' persistent high poverty rate depends, in part, on further improvements in educational attainment. Although primary-school enrollment is near 100%, educational quality is poor, the drop-out rate and grade repetition remain high, and teacher and school accountability is low.

Honduras' population growth rate has slowed since the 1990s and is now 1.2% annually with a birth rate that averages 2.1 children per woman and more among rural, indigenous, and poor women. Honduras' young adult population - ages 15 to 29 - is projected to continue growing rapidly for the next three decades and then stabilize or slowly shrink. Population growth and limited job prospects outside of agriculture will continue to drive emigration. Remittances represent about a fifth of GDP.

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.2% (male 1,411,537/female 1,377,319)

15-24 years: 21.03% (male 969,302/female 972,843)

25-54 years: 37.79% (male 1,657,260/female 1,832,780)

55-64 years: 5.58% (male 233,735/female 281,525)

65 years and over: 5.4% (male 221,779/female 277,260) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 55.2

youth dependency ratio: 47.5

elderly dependency ratio: 7.7

potential support ratio: 13 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 24.4 years

male: 23.5 years

female: 25.2 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

1.22% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

18.19 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

4.67 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution

most residents live in the mountainous western half of the country; unlike other Central American nations, Honduras is the only one with an urban population that is distributed between two large centers - the capital of Tegucigalpa and the city of San Pedro Sula; the Rio Ulua valley in the north is the only densely populated lowland area

Urbanization

urban population: 59% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.48% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

1.485 million TEGUCIGALPA (capital), 929,000 San Pedro Sula (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.83 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

20.3 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age a first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality rate

65 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 15.39 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 17.52 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 13.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.9 years

male: 71.34 years

female: 78.58 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.05 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

73.2% (2011/12)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 88.9% of population

total: 94.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 11.1% of population

total: 5.2% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

7.1% (2018)

Physicians density

0.31 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density

0.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 95.4% of population

rural: 83.5% of population

total: 90.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.6% of population

rural: 16.5% of population

total: 9.8% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

22,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

21.4% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

7.1% (2011/12)

Education expenditures

6.1% of GDP (2018)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 87.2%

male: 87.1%

female: 87.3% (2016)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years

male: 10 years

female: 11 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 10.9%

male: 7.6%

female: 17.6% (2019 est.)