The port of La Uni n on the Gulf of Fonseca is the primary harbor for fishing fleets. Exports have expanded since World War II from the rise of manufacturing and the expansion of agriculture into cotton and sugar. Coffee, however, continues to make up half of all sales abroad. The agricultural products are sent primarily to western Europe, the United States, and Japan. Manufactured products are exported to neighboring countries of Central America.
Imports come primarily from the United States, Central America, Europe, and Venezuela.
They consist of petroleum, textiles, food products, chemicals, machinery, and transport equipment. Since landforms offer limited obstacles to transportation, it has been possible to build the best system of railroads and highways to be found in Central America. The Inter-American Highway passes through the interior valley with links to the coastal highway and to the seaports on the Pacific. Although education is supposed to be compulsory, many people neither read nor write. Thirty percent of all children do not attend primary schools.