The Central American nation of Honduras is currently divided into 18 departments (departamentos). Each department is headed by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Honduras.

Departments of Honduras

• Atlántida
  • department capital: La Ceiba
• Choluteca
  • department capital: Cholulteca
• Colón
  • department capital: Trujillo
• Comayagua
  • department capital: Comayagua
• Copán
  • department capital: Santa Rosa de Copán; also includes the Pre-Columbian ruins of Copán
• Cortés
  • department capital: San Pedro Sula; also includes ports of Puerto Cortés and Omoa
• El Paraíso
  • department capital: Yuscarán
• Francisco Morazán
  • department capital: Tegucigalpa (also the national capital)
• Gracias a Dios
  • department capital: Puerto Lempira
• Intibucá
  • department capital: La Esperanza
• Islas de la Bahía (Bay Islands)
  • department capital: Roatán
• La Paz
  • department capital: La Paz
• Lempira
  • department capital: Gracias
• Ocotepeque
  • department capital: Nueva Octopeque
• Olancho
  • department capital: Juiticalpa
• Santa Bárbara
  • department capital: Santa Bárbara
• Valle
  • department capital: Nacaome
• Yoro
  • department capital: Yoro

Evolution of Honduras's territorial organization

1825: The constitutional congress convened in that year orders that the state be divided into seven departments: Comayagua, Santa Bárbara, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Yoro, Olancho, and Gracias (later renamed Lempira).

1834: An extraordinary constitutional assembly reduces the number of departments to four: this attempt fails to prosper, and the 1825 division remains in force.

1869: Congress orders the creation of the departments of La Paz (broken away from Comayagua), El Paraíso (from Tegucigalpa and Olancho), Copán (from Gracias), and La Mosquitia (from Yoro).

1872: A department called Victoria is ordered to be split from Choluteca, but this never comes into effect. Islas de la Bahía department is founded (the islands were ceded to Honduras by the United Kingdom in 1860).

1881: Parts of Yoro and La Mosquitia are separated to form Colón department.

1883: Intibucá department is formed from sections of La Paz and Gracias.

1893: Valle department (split from Choluteca) and Cortés department (split from Santa Bárbara) are created.

1902: Parts of Yoro and Colón are taken to form the new department of Atlántida.

1906: Ocotepeque department is created by dividing the territory of Copán.

1957: Colón is divided in two to create Gracias a Dios department.

See also

• Honduras
• List of places in Honduras