Santa Barbara: population, poverty, jobs, income, education and health
Santa Barbara is a department of Honduras, number 9 of 18 by population. INE estimates Santa Barbara had 490,072 residents in 2023, 5.0% of Honduras's 9,745,149, making it 9th largest of 18 departments by population.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara had an unemployment rate of 5.0% in 2023 (9,726 unemployed among a labour force of 193,374), below the national figure of 6.8%; this is 9th lowest of 18 departments.
- Health in Santa Barbara: Life expectancy at birth in Santa Barbara was 77.5 years in INE's 2022 estimate (74.3 for men, 80.8 for women), against 77.1 nationally, ranking 4th highest of 18 departments.
- Education in Santa Barbara: People aged 15 and over in Santa Barbara had an average of 6.4 years of schooling in 2023, ranking joint 4th lowest of 18 departments.
- Poverty and living standards in Santa Barbara: 66.8% of households in Santa Barbara were poor in 2023 (87,293 of 130,614 households with declared income), above the figure for all 18 departments combined of 63.4% and is 7th highest of 18 departments.
How urban is Santa Barbara?
35.8% of the people of Santa Barbara lived in urban areas in 2023 (the national figure is 55.7%), ranking 7th least urbanised of 18 departments; 175,629 people were urban and 314,443 rural.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras · saved copyWhat is the population density of Santa Barbara?
Santa Barbara had 98 people per square kilometre in 2023 against 87 nationally, ranking 9th least densely populated of 18 departments.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras · saved copyHow many men and women live in Santa Barbara?
There were 94.9 men for every 100 women in Santa Barbara in 2023 (238,623 men and 251,449 women), compared with 89.0 nationally.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras · saved copyHow many people of working age live in Santa Barbara?
344,435 people in Santa Barbara were of working age (15 and over) in 2023, 70.3% of its population; the national share is 71.9%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras · saved copyHow many people live in a household in Santa Barbara?
Households in Santa Barbara had an average of 3.6 members in 2023 against 3.8 nationally, ranking joint 3rd smallest of 18 departments; there were 134,691 households in total.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras · saved copyHow departments are governed in Honduras
Departments (18). Governor appointed by the president. Represents central government; no functions or funds of its own.
Every tier of government in Honduras
Other departments of Honduras
- Cortes 1,886,695
- Francisco Morazan 1,748,900
- Yoro 655,445
- Olancho 602,876
- Comayagua 593,521
- Paraiso 517,966
- Atlantida 508,228
- Choluteca 491,525
- Copan 430,958
- Lempira 382,378
- Colon 360,498
- Intibuca 279,111
- La Paz 235,599
- Valle 196,412
- Ocotepeque 174,179
- Gracias A Dios 110,288
- Islas De Bahia 80,498
Up a level: Honduras · government and power in Honduras · cities
Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras: Principales indicadores demograficos 2022: tables by department (INE population projections 2014-2030), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4d62fb0ba85b…)
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Honduras: Encuesta Permanente de Hogares de Propositos Multiples (EPHPM) 2023, consolidated four-quarter base: results by department, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 84490a09493a…)
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