Hondurans

[[File:Notable Hondurans Satcha Pretto, Lenny Martinez. Amado Guevara, Carlo Costly , Carlos Mencia , David Suazo, Alex Myer, Joel Da'Costa|frameless]]
Total population
11,000,000 (est)
Regions with significant populations
Honduras      8.5 million
United States	753,532.[1]
Languages
Spanish, English, others
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
Honduran American, Afro-Honduran

Hondurans (Spanish: Hondureños) are people inhabiting in, originating from, 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 yet gained citizenship.

Catracho

Central Americans refer to a person from Honduras as a Catracho. The term was coined by Nicaraguans in the mid-19th century when Honduran General Florencio Xatruch returned from battle with his Honduras and El Salvador soldiers after defeating American freebooters commanded by William Walker, whose purpose was to re-establish slavery and take over all of Central America. As the general and his soldiers returned, some Nicaraguans yelled out ¡Aquí vienen los xatruches!, meaning "Here come Xatruch's boys!" However, Nicaraguans had so much trouble pronouncing the general's last name that they altered the phrase to los catruches and ultimately settled on los catrachos. Salvadorans fought side by side with their Honduran Central American brothers, against William Walker's troops.^[2]

Demographics

Considering metropolitan areas only, the Honduran capital is the fourth largest Central American urban agglomeration, after Guatemala City, Managua, and San Salvador.

Population

Honduras has a population of 7.48 million. According to Honduras' 2001 Census of Population, the most populous Departments are: Cortés (1.2 million), Francisco Morazán (1.2 million), Yoro (466,000), Olancho (420,000), Choluteca (391,000) siguatepeque and Comayagua (353,000). The least populous are Islas de la Bahia and Gracias a Dios.

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

Ethnic groups

The majority of the Honduran population is mestizo or white (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 western highlands of Intibuca, Lempira, La Paz, Valle and Choluteca departments; and the Miskito Indians living on the northeast coast in the Gracias A Dios department and along the border with Nicaragua.

Approximately 5%, 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 18th century. Garífunas are part of Honduran identity through theatrical presentations such as Louvavagu.

Immigration

Honduras hosts a significant Arab community (the vast majority of whom are Christian Arabs of Palestinian and Lebanese descent). The Palestinians and Lebanese arrived in the country in the late 19th century and early 20th century, establishing themselves especially in the city of San Pedro Sula. There are other families that settled in Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba and El Progreso. The Palestinian community, well integrated in Honduras, is prominent in business, commerce, banking, industry, and politics. They are popularly known as turcos (Turks) as they came with Turkish passport.

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