Gracias a Dios Department

Gracias a Dios (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasjas a ðjos], Thanks To God) is one of the 18 departments (departamentos) into which Honduras is divided. The departmental capital is Puerto Lempira; until 1975 it was Brus Laguna.

Gracias a Dios Department

Departamento de Gracias a Dios
Department
Location of Gracias a Dios in Honduras
Coordinates: 15°16′N 83°46′W
Country Honduras
Municipalities6
Villages69
Founded21 February 1957
Capital cityPuerto Lempira
Government
 • TypeDepartmental
 • GobernadorAlberto Samuel Haylock (2014-2022) (PNH)
Area
 • Total15,876 km2 (6,130 sq mi)
Population
 (2015)
 • Total94,450
 • Density5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CDT)
Postal code
33101
ISO 3166 codeHN-GD
HDI (2017)0.526[1]
low · 17th
Statistics derived from Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013[2]

History

Once a part of the Mosquito Coast, it was formed in 1957 from all of Mosquitia territory and parts of Colón and Olancho departments, with the boundary running along 85° W from Cape Camarón south. The department is rather remote and inaccessible by land, although local airlines fly to the main cities.

Geography

Gracias a Dios department covers a total surface area of 16,997 km² and, in 2015, had an estimated population of 94,450.

Although it is the second largest department in the country, it is sparsely populated, and contains extensive pine savannas, swamps, and rainforests. However, the expansion of the agricultural frontier is a perennial threat to the natural bounty of the department.

The department contains the Caratasca Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Honduras.

Crime

Gracias a Dios is known to be a place of relatively high crime. Due to its remoteness and the Honduran government having a relatively low ability to fight crime, trafficking of narcotics is common in Gracias a Dios. Criminal organizations are also common in the area.[3]

Municipalities
  1. Ahuas
  2. Brus Laguna
  3. Juan Francisco Bulnes
  4. Puerto Lempira
  5. Ramón Villeda Morales
  6. Wampusirpi

References
  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  2. "Consulta Base de datos INE en línea: Censo de Población y Vivienda 2013" [Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013]. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) (in Spanish). El Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  3. U.S. Department of State (2016-08-04). Honduras Travel Warning. 4 August 2016. Retrieved on 2016-09-15 from https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/honduras-travel-warning.html Archived 2017-11-24 at the Wayback Machine.


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