Page last updated on January 31, 2014

Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 86 30 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 112,090 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 103
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
Caribbean Sea 669 km; Gulf of Fonseca 163 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm

Climate:
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

Natural resources:
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 9.07%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 3.91%
other: 87.02% (2011)

Irrigated land:
878.5 sq km (2007)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
95.93 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.12 cu km/yr (16%/23%/61%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 295.6 cu m/yr (2006)

Natural hazards:
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

Environment - current issues:
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast