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Honduras - People

About 90% of the population is mestizo. There also are small minorities of European, African, Asian, Arab, and indigenous Indian descent. A majority of Hondurans are Roman Catholic, but Protestant churches are growing in number. While Spanish is the predominant language, some English is spoken along the northern coast and is prevalent on the Caribbean Bay Islands. Several indigenous Indian languages and Garífuna (a mixture of Afro-indigenous languages) are also spoken. The restored Mayan ruins near the Guatemalan border in Copan reflect the great Mayan culture that flourished there for hundreds of years until the early 9th century. Columbus landed at mainland Honduras (Trujillo) in 1502, and named the area "Honduras" (meaning "depths") for the deep water off the coast. Spaniard Hernan Cortes arrived in 1524.

In Honduras the quality of and access to healthcare are directly tied to income levels. Adequate health care is available to those able to pay the high cost. Health care for the urban and rural poor is limited. Health services are not readily accessible to a majority of the population. In the more isolated regions of Honduras, there are almost no physicians. Government clinics are often empty shells lacking adequate personnel, equipment and medicines. Infectious and parasitic diseases are the leading causes of death. Gastro-enteritis and tuberculosis are serious problems. Diseases such as influenza, malaria, typhoid and pneumonia have returned because of a lack of preventive measures. HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Honduras.

According to the 2013 census, which was released during the year, 717,000 respondents, approximately 8.5 percent of the population, identified themselves as members of indigenous communities. Other estimates dating back more than seven years ranged from 8 to 20 percent. These groups, which included the indigenous Miskito, Tawahkas, Pech, Tolupans, Lencas, Maya-Chortis, Nahual, Bay Islanders, and Garifunas, had limited representation in the national government and consequently had little political power over decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and the allocation of natural resources.

According to government data, a large percentage of indigenous and Afro-Honduran children, particularly Tolupan, Lenca, and Pech children were poor. UNICEF called the situation of indigenous and Afro-Honduran children precarious and reported that indigenous Lenca children younger than age five registered the highest level of malnutrition in the country. NGOs reported that unemployment in Afro-Honduran communities was very high. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about persistent societal prejudices. It noted that particularly women of Afro-Honduran and indigenous communities faced multiple forms of discrimination in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

Communal ownership was the norm for most indigenous land, providing land use rights for individual members of the ethnic community. Documents dating to the mid-19th century often poorly defined indigenous land titles, although the government continued efforts to recognize indigenous titles. Lack of a clear title allowed encroachment by and expropriation conflicts with, landless nonindigenous agricultural laborers, businesses, and government entities interested in exploiting coastlines, forests, mining resources, and other lands traditionally occupied or utilized by indigenous and other ethnic minority communities. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about a lack of systematic prior informed consultation with indigenous and Afro-Honduran peoples on natural resource projects. Indigenous communities criticized the government’s alleged complicity in the exploitation of timber and other natural resources on these lands. Indigenous leaders continued to allege that indigenous and nonindigenous groups engaged in drug smuggling and other contraband trafficking and had illegally appropriated vast areas of their communal lands.

The Garifuna have experienced rounds of forced migration leaving ancestral homeland in Honduras and across the Central American region in part because of U.S. war-making. Garifuna community members now living as part of the expanding local Black diaspora have dealt with US backed coups in Honduras along with U.S. trained militaries that have devastated the region.

Violence against women is increasing in the region and reaching crisis proportions in Honduras and Guatemala. In Honduras, the rate of “femicide” has increased more than three-fold from 2002 to 2010. Justice systems were found failing women, with more than 95 percent of crimes going unpunished in all three countries. This gender-based violence (GBV), including sexual abuse, is not only affecting women and adolescent girls, it is also reflected among gays and transgender persons.

Violence against women and impunity for perpetrators continued to be a serious problem. The National Violence Observatory reported 526 violent deaths of women during 2014, a decrease of 110 cases from 2013. Of these 526 deaths, 290 were considered femicides (intentional murder of women because they are women). The observatory reported 244 violent deaths of women in the first six months of 2015. As of October the Public Ministry had investigated 198 cases of suspected femicide.

Rape was a serious and pervasive societal problem. The law criminalizes all forms of rape, including spousal rape. With the exception of spousal rape, which is evaluated on an individual basis, rape is considered a public crime; a rapist may be prosecuted even if the victim does not press charges. The penalties for rape range from three to nine years’ imprisonment, and the courts enforced these penalties. Rape continued to be underreported due to fear of stigma, retribution, and further violence. As of October the special prosecutor for women received 113 reports of rape and other sexual crimes against women, compared with 282 such reports during the same period in 2014. The special prosecutor for women reported 11 convictions as of November and 72 cases in which the alleged perpetrator was still at large. The National Institute for Women and the Public Ministry reported that, as of November, 830 women had been victims of sexual crimes, including forcible rape, statutory rape, incest, and sexual harassment.

Honduras' population growth rate has slowed since the 1990s, but it remains high at nearly 2% annually because the birth rate averages approximately three children per woman and more among rural, indigenous, and poor women. Consequently, 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.