Gracias a Dios Department

Gracias a Dios Department

Departamento de Gracias a Dios
Gracias a Dios Department Departamento de Gracias a Dios
CDT)
Postal code	33101
ISO 3166 code	HN-GD
HDI (2021)	0.550; medium · 17th of 18
	Statistics derived from Consult INE online database: Population and Housing Census 2013

Gracias a Dios (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasjas a ˈðjos]; "Thanks to God" or "Thank 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.^{[citation needed]}

History

Once a part of the

Cape Camarón south. The department is rather remote and inaccessible by land, although local airlines fly to the main cities.^{[citation needed}

]

Geography

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

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.^{[citation needed}

]

The department contains the Caratasca Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Honduras.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Gracias a Dios Department had a population of 90,795. Of these, 81.15% were Indigenous (79.70% Miskito, 0.95% Mayangna), 16.30% Mestizo, 1.58% Black or Afro-Honduran, 0.82% White and 0.15% others.^[4]

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.^[5]