# Demographics of Honduras

This article is about the ethnic groups and population of Honduras.

## Population size and structure

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 10,278,345 in 2021, 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).
| Year | Total population ( × 1000) | Proportion percentage | Proportion percentage | Proportion percentage |
| Year | Total population ( × 1000) | aged 0–14 | aged 15–64 | aged 65+ |
| 1950 | 1 487 | 42.2% | 53.8% | 4.0% |
| 1955 | 1 717 | 44.3% | 52.3% | 3.4% |
| 1960 | 2 002 | 46.1% | 50.8% | 3.2% |
| 1965 | 2 353 | 47.1% | 49.8% | 3.1% |
| 1970 | 2 691 | 47.7% | 49.2% | 3.1% |
| 1975 | 3 108 | 47.5% | 49.3% | 3.2% |
| 1980 | 3 636 | 47.0% | 49.8% | 3.2% |
| 1985 | 4 238 | 46.2% | 50.6% | 3.2% |
| 1990 | 4 904 | 45.5% | 51.1% | 3.4% |
| 1995 | 5 592 | 44.3% | 52.1% | 3.6% |
| 2000 | 6 575 | 42.8% | 53.5% | 3.7% |
| 2005 | 7 459 | 40.6% | 55.6% | 3.8% |
| 2010 | 8 317 | 37.6% | 58.4% | 4.0% |
| 2015 | 9 113 | 33.7% | 61.9% | 4.3% |
| 2020 | 9 905 | 30.6% | 64.4% | 5.0% |

### Structure of the population

| Age group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| 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 | 0.73 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 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 group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| 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 | 0.78 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 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 Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| 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 | 0.04 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 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 Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| 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 | 0.08 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 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.
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR* | CDR* | NC* | TFR* | IMR* | Life expectancy | Life expectancy | Life expectancy |
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR* | CDR* | NC* | TFR* | IMR* | total | for males | for females |
| 1950–1955 | 84 000 | 40 000 | 44 000 | 52.1 | 24.7 | 27.4 | 7.50 | 169 | 41.8 | 40.5 | 43.1 |
| 1955–1960 | 95 000 | 40 000 | 55 000 | 51.1 | 21.5 | 29.6 | 7.50 | 154 | 44.6 | 43.0 | 46.3 |
| 1960–1965 | 108 000 | 40 000 | 68 000 | 49.5 | 18.3 | 31.2 | 7.42 | 136 | 48.0 | 46.3 | 49.8 |
| 1965–1970 | 122 000 | 40 000 | 82 000 | 48.4 | 16.0 | 32.4 | 7.42 | 119 | 51.0 | 49.2 | 53.0 |
| 1970–1975 | 133 000 | 40 000 | 93 000 | 45.9 | 13.7 | 32.2 | 7.05 | 104 | 54.1 | 52.1 | 56.2 |
| 1975–1980 | 150 000 | 38 000 | 112 000 | 44.5 | 11.4 | 33.1 | 6.60 | 81 | 57.7 | 55.6 | 59.9 |
| 1980–1985 | 166 000 | 36 000 | 130 000 | 42.3 | 9.2 | 33.1 | 6.00 | 65 | 61.6 | 59.4 | 63.8 |
| 1985–1990 | 180 000 | 33 000 | 147 000 | 39.5 | 7.3 | 32.2 | 5.37 | 53 | 65.4 | 63.2 | 67.7 |
| 1990–1995 | 195 000 | 33 000 | 162 000 | 37.1 | 6.3 | 30.8 | 4.92 | 43 | 67.7 | 65.4 | 70.1 |
| 1995–2000 | 198 000 | 33 000 | 165 000 | 33.4 | 5.5 | 27.9 | 4.30 | 35 | 69.8 | 67.5 | 72.3 |
| 2000–2005 | 197 000 | 35 000 | 163 000 | 31.4 | 5.0 | 26.4 | 3.87 | 31 | 71.0 | 68.6 | 73.4 |
| 2005–2010 | 201 000 | 37 000 | 164 000 | 27.1 | 4.7 | 22.4 | 3.24 | 28 | 72.1 | 69.7 | 74.5 |
| 2010–2015 | | | | 23.4 | 4.5 | 18.9 | 2.73 | | | | |
| 2015–2020 | | | | 21.8 | 4.4 | 17.4 | 2.49 | | | | |
| 2020–2025 | | | | 20.3 | 4.5 | 15.8 | 2.32 | | | | |
| 2025–2030 | | | | 18.6 | 4.6 | 14.0 | 2.19 | | | | |
| * 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
| Year | Population | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | TFR |
| 2010 | | 200,293 | 22,843 | 177,450 | | | | |
| 2011 | | 201,494 | 25,012 | 176,482 | | | | |
| 2012 | 8,169,047 | 196,119 | 25,249 | 170,870 | | 4.5 | 16 | 3.2 |
| 2013 | 8,303,771 | 214,442 | | | 25.8 | 4.6 | 21.2 | 2.7 |
| 2014 | 8,432,153 | 222,901 | | | 26.4 | 4.5 | 21.9 | 2.7 |
| 2015 | 8,576,532 | 204,594 | | | 23.9 | 4.5 | 19.4 | 2.6 |
| 2016 | 8,721,014 | 184,312 | | | 21.1 | 4.5 | 16.6 | 2.6 |
| 2017 | 8,859,980 | 182,280 | | | 20.6 | 4.4 | 16.2 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | 9,023,838 | 179,842 | | | 19.9 | 4.5 | 15.4 | 2.5 |
| 2019 | 9,151,940 | 169,548 | | | 18.5 | 4.5 | 14.0 | 2.5 |
| 2020 | 9,362,596 | 161,404 | | | 17.4 | 4.45 | | 2.4 |
| 2021 | | 165,684 | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 157,896 | | | | | | |
| 2023 | | 156,000 | | | | | | |

### Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
| Year | Total | Total | Urban | Urban | Rural | Rural |
| Year | 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

Ethnic groups in Honduras %

### 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.
* Copan founder, king Knich Yax Kuk Moo
* Mayan ruler, Kʼakʼ Yipyaj Chan Kʼawiil
* Lencan ruler, Lempira
* Lencan environmental 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.
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.
Examples of Honduran mestizos are, Poet Clemetina Suarez, novelist and poet Roberto Sosa, footballer Noel Valladares and former president Manuel Zelaya.
* Jose Trinidad Reyes, Founder of the National University
* Writer and poet, Rigoberto Paredes.
* Novelist, Roberto Sosa
* Footballer, Noél Valladares

### 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. 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.
* Footballer, David Suazo
* Footballer, 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 settlers, who mainly came from southern Spain, 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. Percentages of whites varied between 2.1% and 7%, due to the fact that the majority of Hondurans identify themselves as mestizos, regardless of their ethnic and racial category. This makes it more difficult to study the number of people who fit into the white category in Honduras.
The census states that only 89,000 people in Honduras labeled themselves as white, which is equal to around 1% of the total population at the time. Another study has stated that around 210,000 people in Honduras fit this category, which would make the Honduran white population to be around 2.1%.
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. 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.
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.
* Central American president, General Francisco Morazán
* General, Florencio Xatruch
* Ex-President, Francisco Bertrand
* Sir. Salvador Moncada, Honduran pharmacologist
* Juan Carlos Fanconi, film director
* Ex president, José Simón Azcona del Hoyo

### East Asians

There is a small Chinese community in Honduras. A lawyer of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) stated that the Chinese community in Honduras is rather small. Many of the Chinese are immigrants who arrived from China after the revolution and their descendants.
* Hajime Waki, Honduran-Japanese singer.

### Arabs

Honduras hosts a significant Palestinian community (the vast majority of whom are Christian Arabs). These Arab-Hondurans are sometimes called "Turcos", because they arrived in Honduras using Turkish travel documents, as their homeland was then under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The Palestinians arrived in the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, establishing themselves especially in the city of San Pedro Sula. As mentioned earlier, they are also considered whites in the country's censuses, in total the Arab-Hondurans make up 3% of the Honduran population.
* Businessman Miguel Facusse, son of immigrants from the Ottoman Empire
* TV host Salvador Nasralla, son of Palestinian immigrants
* Dr Kerim Gattas Asfura, of Arab descent
* Carlos Flores Facussé, first Honduran president of Palestinian descent
Immigrants in Honduras :
| Country | Immigrants |
| United States | 21,000+ |
| El Salvador | 9,000+ |
| Nicaragua | 8,000+ |
| China | 7,000+ |
| Cuba | 5,000+ |
| Guatemala | 4,000+ |
| Mexico | 2,000+ |
| Colombia | 1,000+ |
| Costa Rica | 1,000+ |
| Spain | 1,000+ |

## Religion

Religions: in Honduras %