This article is about the ethnic groups and population of Honduras.
Population size and structure
According to the total population was in , compared to 1,487,000 in 1950 (a fivefold increase in 60 years). The proportion of the population aged below 15 in 2010 was 36.8%, 58.9% were aged between 15 and 65 years of age, and 4.3% were aged 65 years or older.
As of 2014, 60% of Hondurans live below the poverty line. More than 30% of the population is divided between the lower middle and upper middle class, less than 10% are wealthy or belong to the higher social class (most live in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula).
YearTotal population (1000)Proportion percentageaged 0–14aged 15–64aged 65+ 19501 487 19551 717 19602 002 19652 353 19702 691 19753 108 19803 636 19854 238 19904 904 19955 592 20006 575 20057 459 20108 317 20159 113 20209 905
Structure of the population
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 3 717 577 3 819 375 7 536 952 100 0–4 541 070 522 177 1 063 247 14.11 5–9 511 733 497 666 1 009 399 13.39 10–14 464 403 456 447 920 850 12.22 15–19 402 792 400 001 802 793 10.65 20–24 353 317 357 434 710 751 9.43 25–29 308 283 318 130 626 413 8.31 30–34 255 818 266 861 522 679 6.93 35–39 205 171 219 874 425 045 5.64 40–44 157 492 177 140 334 632 4.44 45–49 128 813 147 464 276 277 3.67 50–54 105 428 121 993 227 421 3.02 55–59 83 643 97 033 180 676 2.40 60–64 63 863 73 789 137 652 1.83 65–69 49 404 58 136 107 540 1.43 70–74 37 134 44 984 82 118 1.09 75–79 24 368 30 225 54 593 0.72 80+ 24 845 30 021 54 866 0.73Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 517 206 1 476 290 2 993 496 39.72 15–64 2 064 620 2 179 719 4 244 339 56.31 65+ 135 751 163 366 299 117 3.97
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 3 965 430 4 080 560 8 045 990 100 0–4 549 179 530 110 1 079 289 13.41 5–9 525 938 509 139 1 035 077 12.86 10–14 492 090 481 523 973 613 12.10 15–19 434 856 431 337 866 193 10.77 20–24 371 818 375 696 747 514 9.29 25–29 326 377 337 526 663 903 8.25 30–34 282 042 295 519 577 561 7.18 35–39 230 506 244 378 474 884 5.90 40–44 181 554 200 161 381 715 4.74 45–49 140 031 161 534 301 565 3.75 50–54 116 240 135 378 251 618 3.13 55–59 93 205 109 982 203 187 2.53 60–64 72 071 85 246 157 317 1.96 65–69 53 835 63 955 117 790 1.46 70–74 40 470 49 655 90 125 1.12 75–79 27 381 34 757 62 138 0.77 80+ 27 837 34 664 62 501 0.78Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 567 207 1 520 772 3 087 979 38.38 15–64 2 248 700 2 376 757 4 625 457 57.49 65+ 149 523 183 031 332 554 4.13
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 4 052 316 4 251 456 8 303 771 100 0–4 494 034 476 980 971 015 11.69 5–9 489 821 468 723 958 543 11.54 10–14 520 842 499 564 1 020 406 12.29 15–19 487 949 494 215 982 164 11.83 20–24 398 093 442 708 840 800 10.13 25–29 303 379 353 065 656 443 7.91 30–34 262 951 304 416 567 367 6.83 35–39 224 965 259 775 484 740 5.84 40–44 190 323 209 232 399 555 4.81 45–49 150 635 167 391 318 026 3.83 50–54 141 174 152 082 293 256 3.53 55–59 101 062 109 646 210 708 2.54 60–64 91 291 98 345 189 636 2.28 65–69 64 441 71 267 135 709 1.63 70–74 51 803 54 762 106 566 1.28 75–79 38 419 39 988 78 407 0.94 80–84 22 977 25 988 48 965 0.59 85–89 13 681 15 851 29 532 0.36 90–94 3 162 5 079 8 241 0.10 95+ 1 313 2 379 3 692 0.04Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 504 697 1 445 267 2 949 964 35.53 15–64 2 351 823 2 590 875 4 942 698 59.52 65+ 195 796 215 314 411 110 4.95
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 4 599 323 4 851 388 9 450 711 100 0–4 499 399 481 326 980 725 10.38 5–9 487 201 470 343 957 544 10.13 10–14 498 226 483 892 982 118 10.39 15–19 479 112 485 063 964 175 10.20 20–24 439 748 465 939 905 687 9.58 25–29 403 089 436 407 839 496 8.88 30–34 361 467 397 429 758 896 8.03 35–39 304 818 339 274 644 092 6.82 40–44 246 965 278 001 524 966 5.55 45–49 205 536 232 492 438 028 4.63 50–54 168 437 191 093 359 530 3.80 55–59 139 061 157 969 297 030 3.14 60–64 112 471 128 236 240 707 2.55 65–69 88 488 102 590 191 078 2.02 70–74 65 693 77 874 143 567 1.52 75–79 45 441 54 983 100 424 1.06 80–84 28 378 35 119 63 497 0.67 85–89 15 164 19 214 34 378 0.36 90–94 7 624 9 864 17 488 0.19 95+ 3 005 4 280 7 285 0.08Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 484 826 1 435 561 2 920 387 30.90 15–64 2 860 704 3 111 903 5 972 607 63.20 65+ 253 793 303 924 557 717 5.90
Vital statistics UN estimates Registration of vital events is in Honduras not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
PeriodLive birthsper yearDeathsper yearNatural changeper yearCBR*CDR*NC*TFR*IMR*Life expectancytotalfor malesfor females 1950–1955 84 000 40 000 44 00052.124.727.47.5016941.840.543.1 1955–1960 95 000 40 000 55 00051.121.529.67.5015444.643.046.3 1960–1965 108 000 40 000 68 00049.518.331.27.4213648.046.349.8 1965–1970 122 000 40 000 82 00048.416.032.47.4211951.049.253.0 1970–1975 133 000 40 000 93 00045.913.732.27.0510454.152.156.2 1975–1980 150 000 38 000 112 00044.511.433.16.608157.755.659.9 1980–1985 166 000 36 000 130 00042.39.233.16.006561.659.463.8 1985–1990 180 000 33 000 147 00039.57.332.25.375365.463.267.7 1990–1995 195 000 33 000 162 00037.16.330.84.924367.765.470.1 1995–2000 198 000 33 000 165 00033.45.527.94.303569.867.572.3 2000–2005 197 000 35 000 163 00031.45.026.43.873171.068.673.4 2005–2010 201 000 37 000 164 00027.14.722.43.242872.169.774.5 2010–2015 23.44.518.92.73 2015–2020 21.84.417.42.49 2020–2025 20.34.515.82.32 2025–2030 18.64.614.02.19 * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)
Births and deaths
YearPopulationLive birthsDeathsNatural increaseCrude birth rateCrude death rateRate of natural increaseTFR 1965 2,303,921 99,871 43.3 1970 2,639,027 107,121 40.6 1975 3,093,299 129,599 41.9 1980 3,691,027 155,908 42.2 1985 4,327,487 154,786 35.8 1990 4,744,540 191,974 40.5 1996 5,608,275 196,897 35.1 2000 6,194,926 214,511 34.6 2001 6,530,331 216,422 33.1 2002 6,694,761 193,884 29.0 2003 6,860,842 191,794 28.0 2004 7,028,389 191,012 27.2 2005 7,197,303 207,833 28.9 2006 7,367,021 194,743 26.4 2007 7,536,952 167,238 22.2 2008 7,706,907 191,136 24.8 2009 7,876,662 190,911 24.2 2010 8,045,990 200,293 22,843 177,450 24.9 2.8 22.1 2011 8,215,313 201,494 25,012 176,482 24.5 3.0 21.5 2012 8,385,072 196,119 25,249 170,870 23.4 3.0 20.4 3.2 2013 8,303,770 181,244 21.8 2.7 2014 8,432,153 200,170 23.7 2.7 2015 8,576,532 204,753 23.9 2.6 2016 8,721,014 184,954 21.2 2.6 2017 8,859,980 182,581 20.6 2.5 2018 9,012,229 181,165 20.1 2.5 2019 9,158,345 169,171 18.5 2.5 2020 9,304,380 115,622 12.4 2.4 2021 9,450,711 165,684 17.5 2022 9,597,739 157,896 16.5 1.8406 2023 9,745,149 146,669 15.1 2024 9,892,632 132,284 13.4 2025 2026 Worldbank, country Honduras, visited October 9, 2021
Demographic and health surveys Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
Year Total Urban Rural CBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR 1998–2001 4.4 2005–2006 27 3,3 (2,3) 24 2,6 (1,9) 29 4,1 (2,8) 2011–2012 25.6 2,9 (2,2) 24.2 2,5 (1,9) 27.2 3,5 (2,6)
Ethnic groups
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. The indigenous population would begin to decline from the mid-16th century, mainly due to the various diseases brought by the Europeans in addition to the growing mestizo population after the founding of towns and cities. According to the 2001 census the Amerindian population in Honduras included 381,495 people (6.3% of the total population). 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 chiefs such as Lempira and Cicumba, and environmental and feminist activist Berta Cáceres.
Mestizos Mestizos (meaning mixed European and Amerindian) have been reported by the CIA World Factbook to be about 87% of the population of Honduras. 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 blooded". It's well known that many Hondurans of European or almost entirely Amerindian background consider themselves mestizo.Dario Euraque, "The Threat of Blackness to the Mestizo Nation: Race and Ethnicity in the Honduran Banana Economy, 1920s and 1930s," in Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg, eds. Banana Wars: Power, Production and History in the Americas (Duke University Press, 2003), pp. 229–49.Dario Euraque, "Antropólogos, archaeólogos, imperialismo y la mayanicación de Honduras, 1890–1940," Revista Historia 45 (2002): 73–103
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.
A genetic admixture study focusing on kidney disease in Hispanic populations in the United States found an average genetic mix of 40% European, 39% Indigenous, and 21% African ancestry in the Honduran-American diaspora population, from a sample of 295 US residents who reported all four grandparents born in Honduras. Another genetic study, found that the genetic mix of the majority of Honduran mestizos is 58.4% European, 36.2% Native American, and 5.4% African.
Examples of Honduran mestizos are, Poet Clementina Suarez, novelist and poet Roberto Sosa, footballer Noel Valladares and former president Manuel Zelaya.
African
The Afro-Honduran population consist of people of Afro-Descendants with roots in colonial Honduras, Garifuna, Miskito, 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.
According to some reports around 230,000 enslaved Africans arrived to Honduras during colonial times, directly from Africa and other colonies in the Americas.
Scholars and private universities claim ranges from 20-30% of the Honduran population being Afro-descendants due to many Black Hondurans or Afro-descendants, Mulattos, Afro-Indigenous and people with significant African descent identifying as Mestizo due to oppression from society and the government and Mestizaje, wide-spread mixing amongst other things.