Honduras Population 2023 (Live)

With a population of 9.9 million in 2020, the population of Honduras is expected to surpass 10 million people in 2021 and 15 million people in 2071. Honduras is projected to reach its peak population of 15.05 million in 2076 before slowly declining the rest of the century.

Honduras is growing at a rate of 1.63%, adding about 158,500 people from 2019 to 2020. While the country has negative net migration of a few thousand per year, its fertility rate of 2.49 births per woman helps the population growth each year. The fertility rate has slowly decreased each year, causing the growth rate to slowly decrease as well, which will lead to Honduras’s population growth coming to a halt in 2076.

Honduras Population Growth

During the 1900s, the population of Honduras tended to double roughly every 25 years due to the country's high birth rate. The birth rate among women in Honduras was close to 8 children per woman until the 1970s, but this number has declined to less than 6 since that time. Although this is still quite high, it has done a lot to decrease the growth rate in Honduras and things are unlikely to keep doubling at the same rate in the future.

Honduras Population Projections

The population in Honduras has been decreasing for quite some time, and that is expected to continue in the years to come. It is projected that the annual rate of growth will hit a peak in 2020 at 1.64% before decreasing an entire percentage point to 0.64% by 2050. These same predicitions state that the population of Honduras will be 9,719,265 by 2020, 11,147,351 by 2030, 12,339,417 by 2040, and 13,248,655 by 2050.

Honduras Area and Population Density

The Republic of Honduras has a landmass of 112,492 square kilometers (43,278 square miles) making it the 102nd largest country with regards to the surface area alone. As a central American country with a significant amount of coastline, Honduras is particularly susceptible hurricanes and droughts. For every square kilometer of Honduran territory, there is an average of 64 people here which equates to 166 per square mile and makes Honduras the 128th most densely populated country in the world today.

Largest Cities in Honduras

The capital and largest city of Honduras is Tegucigalpa, commonly called Tegus. Tegus is the administrative and political center of the country . The city's infrastructure has not kept up with the rapid growth, which has led to widespread poverty and condensed living. Tegus has a population of about 1.12 million with a density of 5,600 people per square kilometer (14,516/square mile). Other major cities include San Pedro Sula (pop: 639,000), Choloma (223,000), La Ceiba (174,000).

Honduras is located in Central America where it's bordered by Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Gulf of Honduras, and the Gulf of Fonseca. Honduras was called Spanish Honduras for many years to differentiate it from British Honduras, which later became Belize. Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821 and has remained independent since.

Honduras Demographics

The vast majority of the population of Honduras consider themselves to be white or Mestizo. About 90% of the population is Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian ancestry). In addition, 7% are of American Indian descent while 2% declare themselves to be black.

Most Honduras expatriates are in the United States. It's estimated that 800,000 to 1 million Hondurans are in the U.S., or almost 15% of the country's domestic population.

Honduras Religion, Economy and Politics

While most Hondurans are Roman Catholic, the number of people who are members of the Roman Catholic Church has been declining for years while membership in several Protestant churches has increased. A 2008 poll found that 51% of Hondurans are Catholic while 36% are Protestant. About 11% do not have a religious affiliation while 1% claim another religion, such as Buddhism or Islam.

Nearly three-fifths of Hondurans live in poverty, contributing largely to the country's status as low-middle income, although things have been on the upswing since the end of the 2008 global economic crisis. Rural areas have been disproportionately affected by poverty, and efforts are being made to diversify how these people can earn a living. The likelihood of extreme weather in the area has contributed to volatile conditions in the agricultural sector, which is the largest industry in the country, making up 14% of the national GDP and 22% of exports. Coffee and bananas are the most common agricultural goods.

Honduras Population History

Christopher Columbus landed in Honduras and had Spain settle the area in the early 1500s. 300 years later, Honduras gained independence from Spain, but became a part of Mexico. Leading up to 1970 there was a significant influx of immigrants from El Salvador, which led to a a short war which was high in fatalities. The growth rate in Honduras hit a peak around 1978 when Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro took power, and the rate of increase has been slowly declining since.