Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, suffers from extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, as well as high underemployment. While historically dependent on the export of bananas and coffee, Honduras has diversified its export base to include apparel and automobile wire harnessing.
Honduras’s economy depends heavily on US trade and remittances. The US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement came into force in 2006 and has helped foster foreign direct investment, but physical and political insecurity, as well as crime and perceptions of corruption, may deter potential investors; about 15% of foreign direct investment is from US firms.
The economy registered modest economic growth of 3.1%-4.0% from 2010 to 2017, insufficient to improve living standards for the nearly 65% of the population in poverty. In 2017, Honduras faced rising public debt, but its economy has performed better than expected due to low oil prices and improved investor confidence. Honduras signed a three-year standby arrangement with the IMF in December 2014, aimed at easing Honduras’s poor fiscal position.
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | |
| GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) | 5.48 | 6.68 | 14.36 | 21.59 |
| GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) | 1,110 | 1,020 | 1,730 | 2,180 |
| GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions) | 9.59 | 16.51 | 29.98 | 50.02 |
| GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) | 1,930 | 2,510 | 3,600 | 5,050 |
| GDP (current US$) (billions) | 4.92 | 7.1 | 15.73 | 23.66 |
| GDP growth (annual %) | 2.8 | 7.3 | 3.7 | -9 |
| Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) | 25 | 8 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | 24 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP) | 31 | 29 | 26 | 26 |
| Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 32 | 54 | 46 | 35 |
| Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 39 | 66 | 64 | 51 |
| Gross capital formation (% of GDP) | 21 | 28 | 22 | 19 |
| Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) | .. | 20 | 20.6 | .. |
| Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) | .. | -3 | -3 | .. |
| States and markets | ||||
| Time required to start a business (days) | .. | 61 | 43 | 42 |
| Domestic credit provided by financial sector (% of GDP) | .. | 34.5 | 49.6 | 74.9 |
| Tax revenue (% of GDP) | .. | 13.7 | 14.4 | .. |
| Military expenditure (% of GDP) | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) | 0 | 2.4 | 114.3 | 70.3 |
| Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | 0 | 1.2 | 11.1 | 42.1 |
| High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) | .. | .. | 3 | 2 |
| Statistical Capacity Score (Overall Average) (scale 0 - 100) | .. | .. | 76 | 57 |
| Global links | ||||
| Merchandise trade (% of GDP) | 38 | 103 | 96 | 76 |
| Net barter terms of trade index (2000 = 100) | 78 | 100 | 151 | 168 |
| External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) (millions) | 3,817 | 5,617 | 4,008 | 11,017 |
| Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | 38.3 | 14.8 | 10.3 | 23.8 |
| Net migration (thousands) | -78 | -42 | -30 | -34 |
| Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions) | 63 | 474 | 2,618 | 5,589 |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) | 44 | 350 | 607 | 236 |
| Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions) | 411 | 399.9 | 470.5 | 457.6 |
