Poverty in Honduras and How to Help
SEATTLE, Washington Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the world. The World Bank reported a poverty rate of 48.3% in 2018. This is a decrease from the 2016 level of 68.5%. This decrease comes both from the fact that Honduras is the second-highest economically growing country in Central America and the fact that the poverty line was redefined to a lower threshold. Poverty in Honduras is a pressing, pervasive and complicated issue.
Overview of Poverty in Honduras
Even with the recent economic growth, Honduras has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to have a 7.1% decrease in GDP for 2020. Part of the reason that poverty in Honduras is so prevalent is the high inequality within the country. Of its impoverished residents, 60.1% live in rural areas and 38.4% live in urban areas. This results in one of the smallest middle classes in all of Central America.