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Belize

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Background :

Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Guatemala and Belize are gearing up for a simultaneous referendum to determine if this dispute will go before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, high crime rates, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS. 

Location :

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

Geographic Coordinates Center :

17 15 N, 88 45 W  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -89.22
North 18.50
East -87.78
South 15.89

Area :

total 22 966 square km
land 22 806 square km
water 160 square km

Land boundaries :

total 516 km
Guatemala (gt) 266 km
Mexico (mx) 250 km

Coastline :

386.00 km

Climate :

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

Terrain :

flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 1 160 metres

Natural resources :

arable land potential fish
hydropower timber

Land use :

arable land 3.05 %
permanent crops 1.39 %
other 95.56 %

Irrigated land :

30 square km

Natural hazards :

devastating hurricanes

current issues :

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

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes
Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection
Ship Pollution Wetlands
Whaling

Population :

307 899 

Indicators :

Growth rate 2.15 %
Birth rate 27.33 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 3.36 children born/woman
Death rate 5.80 deaths/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 37.90 %
15-64 years 58.60 %
65 years and over 3.50 %

Median age :

total 20.40 years
male 20.30 years
female 20.60 years

Sex ratio :

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 0.92 male(s)/female
total population 1.03 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 23.07 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 68.20 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 66.44 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 70.05 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 2.10 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 3 600
HIV-AIDS deaths 200

Religions :

Roman Catholic 49.60 %
Protestant 27.00 %
other 14.00 %
none 9.40 %

Languages :

Spanish 46.00 %
Creole 32.90 %
Mayan dialects 8.90 %
English 3.90 %
Garifuna 3.40 %
German 3.30 %

Literacy :

total population 76.90 %
male 76.70 %
female 77.10 %

Country name :

conventional short form Belize
former British Honduras

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 BZ
ISO Numeric 84
ISO3 BLZ
FIPS BH
ccTLD bz
English Belize

Administrative divisions :

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

Capital :

name Belmopan
geographic coordinates 17 15 N, 88 46 W
time difference -6.00

International organization participation :

ACP AOSIS
C CDB
Caricom FAO
G-77 IADB
IAEA IBRD
ICAO ICCt
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IMO
IOC IOM
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAES
MIGA NAM
OAS OPANAL
OPCW PCA
PetroCaribe RG
SICA UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNIDO UPU
WCL WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO

Independence :

1981-09-21 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1981-09-21

Executive branch :

Prime Minister Dean Oliver BARROW Queen ELIZABETH II

Legislative branch :

UDP 56.30 %
PUP 40.90 %

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 2 534 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 1 407 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -1.50 %
PPP - per capita 8 200 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 29.00 %
industry 16.90 %
services 54.10 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 10.20 %
industry 18.10 %
services 71.70 %

Other Indicators :

Unemployment rate 8.10 %
Population below poverty line 33.50 %
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.30 %
Investment (gross fixed) 19.10 % of GDP
Current account balance - 80 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 200 000 000 $
Debt external 954 100 000 $
Military expenditures 1.40 % of GDP

Budget :

revenues 376 500 000 $
expenditures 412 500 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas cacao
citrus cultured shrimp
fish garments
sugar timber

Industries :

construction food processing
garment production oil
tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 213 500 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 198 500 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 248 400 000 kWh
Oil Production 3 511 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 7 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 2 260 bbl/day
Oil Imports 7 204 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 6 700 000 bbl

Value :

395 000 000 $

Partners :

United States (us) 36.90 %
United Kingdom (gb) 22.30 %
Italy (it) 4.70 %
Cote dIvoire 4.40 %
Nigeria (ng) 4.20 %

Commodities :

bananas citrus
clothing crude oil
fish products molasses
sugar wood

Value :

616 000 000 $

Commodities :

beverages chemicals
food fuels
machinery and transportation equipment manufactured products
pharmaceuticals tobacco

Currency-name :

Belizean dollar 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 31 100
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 160 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 16
Television broadcast stations 7
Internet Country code (ccTLD) bz
Internet Hosts 3 017
Internet Users 34 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 4
Roadways - total 3 007 km
Roadways - paved 575 km
Roadways - unpaved 2 432 km
Waterways 825 km

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