Economy

Honduras is the poorest country in Central America and second poorest in the Western Hemisphere with GDP per capita at US$3,000 per year (2006). The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealth remains very polarized with average wages remaining very low. Economic growth in the last few years has averaged 5% a year, but 50% of the population still remain below the poverty line. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million people who are unemployed, the rate of unemployment standing at 27.9%.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund classify Honduras as one of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries eligible for debt relief, which was given in 2005.

Both the electricity services (ENEE) and land-line telephone services (HONDUTEL) have been operated by government agencies, with the ENEE receiving heavy subsidies because of chronic financial problems. HONDUTEL, however, is no longer a monopoly, the telecommunication sector having been opened to private-sector companies after December 25, 2005; this was one of the requirements before approving the beginning of CAFTA. There are price controls on petrol, and other temporary price controls for basic commodities are often passed for short periods by the Congress.

After years of declining against the US dollar the Lempira has stabilised at around 19 Lempiras per dollar.

In 2005, Honduras signed the CAFTA (Free Trade Agreement with USA). In December 2005, Honduras' main seaport Puerto Cortes was included in the US Container Security Initiative.