Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime.

Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico

17 15 N, 88 45 W

total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km
water: 160 sq km

total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km

386 km

territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)

flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m

arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower

arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39%
other: 95.56% (2005)

30 sq km (2003)

frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)

deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal

only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean

287,730 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 39.5% (male 57,923/female 55,678)
15-64 years: 57% (male 82,960/female 81,046)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,888/female 5,235) (2006 est.)

total: 19.6 years
male: 19.5 years
female: 19.8 years (2006 est.)

2.31% (2006 est.)

28.84 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 24.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 68.3 years
male: 66.43 years
female: 70.26 years (2006 est.)

3.6 children born/woman (2006 est.)

2.4% (2003 est.)

3,600 (2003 est.)

less than 200 (2003 est.)

noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean

mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%

Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4% (2000)

English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1%
male: 94.1%
female: 94.1% (2003 est.)

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize
former: British Honduras

parliamentary democracy

Belmopan

6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo

21 September 1981 (from UK)

Independence Day, 21 September (1981)

21 September 1981

English law

18 years of age; universal

bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8

Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)

In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 5% in 1999-2005. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

$1.778 billion (2004 est.)

$908 million (2005 est.)

3.8% (2005 est.)

$6,800 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 23%
services: 54.5% (2004 est.)

90,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.)

agriculture: 27%
industry: 18%
services: 55% (2001 est.)

12.9% (2003)

33% (1999 est.)

3% (2005 est.)

35.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $262 million
expenditures: $329 million; including capital expenditures of $70 million (2005 est.)

bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments

garment production, food processing, tourism, construction

4.6% (1999)

120 million kWh (2003)

111.6 million kWh (2003)

6,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

-$200.1 million (2005 est.)

$349.9 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood

US 36.6%, UK 26.4%, Jamaica 4.5% (2004)

$622.4 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco

US 30.1%, Mexico 12%, Guatemala 7.4%, Cuba 7.2%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2004)

$90.45 million (2005 est.)

$1.362 billion (June 2004 est.)

Belizean dollar (BZD)

1 April - 31 March

33,700 (2004)

91,700 (2004)

general assessment: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay
international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2005)

AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)

2 (1997)

.bz

3,846 (2005)

35,000 (2005)

43 (2005)

total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2005)

total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 26 (2005)

total: 2,872 km
paved: 488 km
unpaved: 2,384 km (1999)

825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2005)

total: 302 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,040,813 GRT/1,398,275 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 218, chemical tanker 8, container 6, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 173 (Belgium 1, China 71, Cyprus 2, Estonia 5, Germany 3, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, Indonesia 2, Italy 4, Japan 5, South Korea 5, Latvia 4, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Pakistan 1, Poland 2, Russia 33, Singapore 4, Spain 2, Switzerland 2, Turkey 8, Ukraine 3, UAE 3, US 2) (2005)

Belize City

Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard

Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS seeks to revive the 2002 failed Belize-Guatemala Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package

transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector