Hondurans

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Honduran


caption =
poptime = 8,000,000 (est)
regions = flagcountry|Hondurasspaces|67.4 million
region1 = flagcountry|USA
pop1 = 459,653.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= 2005 American Community Survey: Race and Hispanic or Latino | date=2000 | publisher=U.S. Census Bureau | url= http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-redoLog=false&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G2000_B03001 = | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-11 | language = ]
langs = Spanish, English, others
rels = Roman Catholicism
related = Honduran American,
Afro-Honduran

Hondurans ( _es. Hondureños; also " _es. Catracho") are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Honduras. Most Hondurans live in Honduras, although there is also a significant Honduran diaspora, particularly in the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world. There are also people living in Honduras who are not Hondurans because they were not born or raised in Honduras nor have they gained citizenship.

Catracho

The term " _es. catracho" is what Hondurans, as well as people from other countries, refer to themselves as. The term was coined by Nicaraguans in the mid 1800s when Honduran General Florencio Xatruch returned from battle with his soldiers after defeating American filibusters commanded by William Walker, who's purpose was to re-establish slavery and take over all of Central America. As the general and his soldiers returned they were greeted by the Nicaraguan people whom yelled out " _es. vienen los xatruches", then " _es. los catruches" and finally " _es. los catrachos", this meant "Xatruch's boys". However, the general's last name was so badly pronounced by the Nicaraguans that they ultimately settled with " _es. catracho". [cite news | first=Roberto | last=Sánchez Ramírez | coauthors= | title=El general que trajo a los primeros catrachos | date= | publisher= | url =http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/cronologico/2004/julio/12/nacionales/nacionales-20040712-09.html | work =La Prensa | pages = | accessdate = 2007-11-27 | language = Spanish ]

Demographics

Honduras is the only Central American country which its second most important city has half the population of the city-capital. Considering metropolitan areas only, the Honduran capital is the third largest Central American urban agglomeration, after Guatemala City and San Salvador.

Population

Honduras has a population of 7.48 million. According to Honduras' 2001 Census of Population, the most populated Departments are: Cortés (1,2 million), Francisco Morazán (1,2 million), Yoro (466,000), Olancho (420,000), Choluteca (391,000) and Comayagua (353,000). The less populated are Islas de la Bahia and Gracias a Dios.

According to the same source, the main cities are: Tegucigalpa (894,000 hab.-Central District only-), San Pedro Sula (517,000), Choloma (160,000), La Ceiba (140,00 hab.), El Progreso (106,000 hab.), Choluteca, Comayagua, Puerto Cortes, La Lima and Danli. However, the main metropolitan areas are Tegucigalpa (1,200,000 hab. -est. 2007-) and San Pedro Sula (900,000 hab.). Between the 1988 and 2001 Census, San Pedro Sula's population duplicated. The country has 20 cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The majority of the Honduran population is mestizo (a mixture of Amerindian and European)

Amerindians make up the largest minority ethnic group, with 7% of the population, or over 520,000. The Amerindian population consists of seven indigenous groups recognized by the Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH) and the government of Honduras, among them they recognize the Afro-Caribbean and Garífuna groups which are not Amerindian. The seven indigenous groups are: the Ch'orti', a Mayan group living in the northwest on the border with Guatemala; the Garifuna speaking a Carib language., they live along the entire Caribbean coastline of Honduras, and in the Bay Islands; the Pech or Paya Indians living in a small area in the Olancho department; the Tolupan (also called Jicaque, "Xicaque", or Tol), living in the Department of Yoro and in the reserve of the Montaña de la Flor and parts of the department of Yoro; the Lenca Indians living in the Valle and Choluteca departments; and the Miskito Indians living on the northeast coast along the border with Nicaragua.

Approximately 2%, up to 350,000, of Honduras's population is black, or Afro-Honduran, and mainly reside on the country's Caribbean or Atlantic coast. The black population comes from a number of sources. Most are the descendants of the West Indian islands brought to Honduras as slaves and indentured servants. Another large group are the Garífuna, descendants of an Afro-Carib population which revolted against British authorities on the island of St. Vincent and were forcibly moved to Belize and Honduras during the eighteenth century. Garífunas are part of Honduran identity through theatrical presentations such as Louvavagu.

The smallest ethnic group in Honduras are the whites. Honduras contains the smallest white Latin American population in the region with only 1% of the population classified as white, up to 75,000.

Immigration

Honduras hosts a significant Palestinian community (the vast majority of whom are Christian Arabs). The Palestinians arrived in the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing themselves especially in the city of San Pedro Sula. The Palestinian community, well integrated in Honduras, is prominent in business, commerce, banking, industry, and politics. Also present in an East Asian community that is primarily of Chinese descent, and to a lesser extent Japanese. Korean, Ryukyuan, Vietnamese also make up a small percentage due to their arrival to Honduras as contract laborers in the 1980s and 1990s.

References