Structure of the population

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[11]

Mestizos

Mestizos (meaning mixed European and Amerindian) have been reported by the CIA World Factbook to be about 87% of the population of Honduras.^[13] As in other Latin American countries, the question of racial breakdown of a national population is contentious. Since the beginning of the 20th century at least, Honduras has publicly framed itself as a mestizo nation, along with other Latin American countries such as Guatemala or Mexico, ignoring and at times disparaging both the European component of the population and the surviving Amerindian population that was still regarded as "pure blood". It's well known that many Hondurans of European or almost entirely Amerindian background consider themselves mestizo.^[14][15]

Because of social stigmas attached, many Honduran people denied having African ancestry, and after African descended Caribbean workers arrived in Honduras, an active campaign to denigrate all people of African descent, made persons of mixed race anxious to deny any African ancestry. Hence official statistics quite uniformly under-represent those people who have ancestry in favor of a "two race" solution.^[14]

Examples of Honduran mestizos are, Poet Clemetina Suarez, novelist and poet Roberto Sosa, footballer Noel Valladares and former president Manuel Zelaya.

Amerindian

The Amerindian population is the largest minority group in Honduras. The largest Amerindian group are the Lencan people. These people have been living in Honduran territory since before the colonization of the Americas, developing their own societies and civilizations. They still have many communities across the country. According to the 2001 census the Amerindian population in Honduras included 381,495 people (6.3% of the total population).^[16] With the exception of the Lenca and the Ch'orti' they still keep their language.

Six different Amerindian groups were counted at the 2001 census:

• the Lenca (279,507 in 2001;4.6% of the total population) living in the La Paz, Intibucá, and Lempira departments;
• the Miskito (51,607 in 2001; 0.8%) living on the northeast coast along the border with Nicaragua.
• the Ch'orti' (34,453 in 2001;0.6% of the total population), a Mayan group living in the northwest on the border with Guatemala;
• the Tolupan (also called Jicaque, "Xicaque", or Tol; 9,617 in 2001; 0.2% of the total population), living in the reserve of the Montaña de la Flor and parts of the department of Yoro;
• the Pech or Paya Indians (3,848 in 2001; 0.1% of the total population) living in a small area in the Olancho department;
• the Mayangna or Tawahka (2,463 in 2001; <0.1%)

Examples of Honduran natives are the many Mayan rules of Copan and other Mayan cities, native leaders as Lempira and Cicumba, and environmental and feminist activist Berta Cáceres.

African

The Afro-Honduran population consist of people of African descent, Garifuna and Creoles. Most of them are descendants of African people brought by the Spanish and other European colonizers between the 16th and 18th centuries. Many of them came from the west African coast, from places like Angola or Senegambia, where European bought slaves for their colonies, while others came from the other colonies in the Caribbean.

• The Garifuna are descendants of Carib, Arawak, and West African people. This ethnic group has its origins in a group from St. Vincent islands in the Caribbean, who came in 1797. At the 2001 census 46,448 people were registered as Garifuna, 0.8% of the total population of Honduras.^[16] The Garifuna speak an Arawakan language. They live along the entire Caribbean coastline of Honduras, and in the Bay Islands.
• The number of Creoles was 12,370 (0.2%) in 2001.

Examples of well-known Afro-Hondurans are footballers David Suazo, Victor "Muma" Bernardez, Dr. Emet Cherefant, and Wilson Palacios.

European

Honduras of European descent or White Hondurans, along with Afro-descendants and Amerindians belong to the minorities of Honduras. Most of the white population are descendants of the Spanish colonists, who mainly came from southern Spain,^{[citation needed]} and inhabit most of the western part of the country. Other populations include descendants of European immigrants who arrived at the beginning of the 20th century. In 2014, there were about 14,000 Hondurans of Italian descent, while there were around 400 Italian citizens.^[17] Percentages of whites varied between 4% and 9%,^{[citation needed]} due to the fact that the majority of Hondurans identify themselves as mestizos, regardless of their ethnic and racial category. Which makes it more difficult to study the number of people who fit into the white category in Honduras. In a census a total of 450,000 of people from Honduras have appeared who identify themselves as whites, therefore it gives the percentage is 4%.

However, other studies report that the percentage could rise much more, reaching close to a half a million white people in Honduras, which according to official national sources would make a percentage of between 5% and 6.9% of whites in Hondurans.^{[citation needed]} This is because the majority of whites in Honduras do not identify themselves as Euro-descendants as such, adopting and feeling more identified with the mestizo identity.^{[citation needed]}

Examples of white Hondurans are ex president Simon Azcona del Hoyo, pharmacologist Salvador Moncada, film director Juan Carlos Fanconi, politician Roberto Micheletti, General Florencio Xatruch and former president of the Central American federation Don Francisco Morazán Quezada.

Asians

Population

9,459,440 (2022 est.)

Ethnic groups

Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, African descent 2%, White 1%

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.2% (male 1,411,537/female 1,377,319)

15-24 years: 21.03% (male 969,302/female 972,843)

25-54 years: 37.79% (male 1,657,260/female 1,832,780)

55-64 years: 5.58% (male 233,735/female 281,525)

65 years and over: 5.4% (male 221,779/female 277,260) (2020 est.)

Birth rate

17.92 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 83rd

Death rate

4.68 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 203rd

Median age

total: 24.4 years. Country comparison to the world: 165th

male: 23.5 years

female: 25.2 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

1.19% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 78th

Total fertility rate

2.01 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 106th

Mother's mean age at first birth

20.3 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age a first birth among women 25-49

Net migration rate

-1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 155th

Contraceptive prevalence rate

73.2% (2011/12)

Education expenditures

4.9% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 68th

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 88.5%

male: 88.2%

female: 88.7% (2019)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years

male: 10 years

female: 11 years (2019)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 17.8%

male: 11.1%

female: 27.7% (2020 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.17 years. Country comparison to the world: 128th

male: 71.63 years

female: 78.82 years (2022 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 59.6% of total population (2022)

rate of urbanization: 2.48% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Languages

Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

Religions

Evangelical/Protestant 48%, Roman Catholic 34%, other 1%, none 17% (2020 est.)