A small farm nestled in the rugged highlands of central Honduras. Normally, the richest families had access to the best education in or outside the country. More than three-fourths of the 29,236-square mile country is mountainous. Honduras has a population of just over 8 million and an economy primarily driven by exportsâpropped up in no small way by remittances. (Adds background and details) TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The Honduran central bank said on Monday that devastation caused by Hurricane Eta ⦠The budget for Honduran security and justice institutions has increased by over 50 percent in the last five years. Lowlands below 1,500 feet (460 metres) have mean annual temperatures between 79 and 82 °F (26 and 28 °C). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The bulk of the population of Honduras lives a generally isolated existence in the mountainous interior, a fact that may help to explain the rather insular policy of the country in relation to Latin and Central American affairs. The official name of the country is the Republic of Honduras. Honduras has shifted from democratic to dictatorial governments, but in 1981 civilian rule returned. Subsistence agriculture and fishing are the main support of the scattered population. Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations Honduras, a Central American nation of 9.3 million people, has had close ties with the United States for many years. Under Spain, as in most Central American countries, Honduran education was an enterprise of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1997, its population was over 6 million. Since then, Honduras has been through many years of political instability, corruption and poverty, and it Political unrest rocked Honduras in the early 1900s, resulting in ⦠History & Background. This is part of the legacy of the Spanish Empire. Honduras, the secondlargest country in Central America, is mountainous and - geologically diverse. In the last couple of years, the El Pozo and La Tolva maximum-security prisons were built. (For regional treatment, see pre-Columbian civilizations: Mesoamerican civilization; Latin America, history of; and Central America.) In some Central American countries, such as Guatemala and El Salvador, the armed forces emerged during the late nineteenth century as an appendage of powerful new coffee oligarchies. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Honduras became quite wealthy in comparison to the rest of Central America, and the city of Tegucigalpa was founded in 1578, in the mining area. )For a time, the Afro-Caribb⦠The biggest enemy of both public and private education in Honduras is extreme poverty. Spanish rule was always centered around the silver mining areas, in the center of Honduras, away from the Caribbean coast. The main surface features have a general east-west orientation. [â¦] Its area includes the offshore Caribbean department of the Bay Islands. Honduras was invaded by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, introducing a long period of colonial rule that ended in 1821. The northern coastal and alluvial plains and coastal sierras make up about one-eighth of the land area and contain about one-fourth of the population. The north coast is occasionally affected from October to April by cool northern winds of continental origin. Volcano rising above Amapala, El Tigre Island, Honduras. Honduras Power Point 1. Honduras, officially Republic of Honduras, Spanish República de Honduras, country of Central America situated between Guatemala and El Salvador to the west and Nicaragua to the south and east. 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