Honduras, formally the Republic of Honduras, is a Central American nation. Honduras is bounded on the west by Guatemala, on the southwest by El Salvador, on the southeast by Nicaragua, on the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and on the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a huge Caribbean Sea inlet. Tegucigalpa is its capital and biggest city.
Before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century, Honduras was home to numerous prominent Mesoamerican civilizations, most notably the Maya. The Spanish brought Catholicism and the now-dominant Spanish language, as well as a slew of traditions that have melded with indigenous culture. Honduras gained independence in 1821 and has remained a republic ever since, despite experiencing tremendous social unrest and political instability and being one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. The International Court of Justice moved the northern half of what was known as the Mosquito Coast from Nicaragua to Honduras in 1960.
Because the country's economy is predominantly agricultural, it is particularly susceptible to natural calamities like as Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The lower class is mostly agrarian, whilst wealth is concentrated in the country's metropolitan areas. Honduras has a Human Development Index of 0.625, indicating that it is a medium developed country. When income disparity is taken into account, the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index is 0.443.
Honduran civilization is mostly Mestizo, although there are large American Indian, black, and white minorities in the country. Until the 2009 coup and the 2017 presidential election, the country maintained relatively high political stability.
Honduras has a land area of 112,492 km2 (43,433 sq mi) and a population of about 9 million people. Its northern parts are part of the western Caribbean zone, as shown by population and culture. Honduras is well-known for its abundant natural resources, which include minerals, coffee, tropical fruit, and sugar cane, as well as its expanding textile industry, which feeds the worldwide market.