Honduras

Honduras: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

A largely agricultural economy (coffee, bananas) and manufacturing-export base, Honduras has grown steadily but remains one of the poorest and most inequality- and violence-affected countries in Latin America. Between 1980 and 2025, Honduras's GDP per capita grew from $854 to $3,598 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 3.2% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 7.7% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 7.5 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 20.9% to 13.3% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 48.8% to 57.6% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 60.4 to 73.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 7.3% to 23.3%, while the urban population share grew from 35.1% to 59.3%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 0.50 to 1.14 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 55.4 to 45.7; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 49.5% to 15.7%.