Honduras

The population of Honduras is very young. Around 41% of people are children and young people under the age of 15. The government is investing a lot in the education and training sector, which receives around 20% of the total national budget. However, the illiteracy rate is high at 11.5%. Even though formal schooling is compulsory for children and young people ages seven to 17 and school attendance is free, many children do not finish school. There is a lack of teachers, school supplies and teaching materials, particularly in rural areas.

KfW is supporting the development and expansion of the education system in Honduras, contributing to improvements in educational infrastructure in rural schools, in particular. This support prioritises investments according to need based on a master plan. KfW has supported 310 school centres, directly benefiting 48,000 pupils.

Project information - Education (PDF, 188 KB, non-accessible)

The climate in Honduras is tropical, becoming subtropical in the highlands. There are often intense storms between June and November which can lead to heavy rainfall and flooding. In 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota caused considerable damage affecting more than 1.5 million people. KfW is supporting the nation’s efforts to protect itself from flooding and promotes adaptation to the impacts of climate change in urban areas.

A further focus area of the cooperation is protecting biodiversity. Nearly 50% of the country is covered in forests. The Rio Plátano biosphere is the largest Honduran protected area and the heart of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. The large rainforest area was declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1982 due to the high number of rare plant and animal species that can be found there. KfW supported the preservation of this conservation area until 2020.

In cooperation with the Honduran Government, KfW is also implementing a project that aims to stabilise the national system of protected areas (Life Web) by improving the management of 17 selected marine and coastal conservation areas, thus contributing to the protection of these ecologically valuable regions.