BELIZE
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 22,960 km2; land area: 22,800 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: 516 km total; Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: claimed by Guatemala, but boundary negotiations to
resolve dispute are nearing completion
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to
February)
Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 2%; forest and woodland 44%; other 52%, includes irrigated
NEGL%
Environment: frequent devastating hurricanes (September to
December) and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation
Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to
Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a
coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 228,069 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)
Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 35 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: male 67 years, female 72 years (1991)
Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
Ethnic divisions: Creole 39.7%, Mestizo 33.1%, Maya 9.5%, Garifuna
7.6%, East Indian 2.1%, other 8.0%
Religion: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%,
Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%,
Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 3%, other 3%
(1980)
Language: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
Literacy: 91% (male 91%, female 91%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1970)
Labor force: 51,500; agriculture 30.0%, services 16.0%, government
15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3%; shortage of skilled
labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
Organized labor: 12% of labor force; 7 unions currently active
Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK; formerly British
Honduras)
Constitution: 21 September 1981
Legal system: English law
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Dame Elmira Minita GORDON (since 21
September 1981);
Head of Government--Prime Minister George Cadle PRICE (since 4
September 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
People's United Party (PUP), George PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA;
United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW;
Belize Popular Party (BPP), Louis SYLVESTRE
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
National Assembly--last held 4 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(28 total)
PUP 15 seats, UDP 13 seats; note--in January 1990 one
member expelled from UDP joined PUP, making the seat count
16 PUP, UDP 12
Communists: negligible
Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion
of Education and Research (SPEAR) headed by former PUP minister;
United Workers Front
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador James V. HYDE; Chancery at
Suite 2J, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 363-4505;
US--Ambassador Eugene L. SCASSA; Embassy at Gabourel Lane and
Hutson Street, Belize City (mailing address is P. O. Box 286, Belize
City); telephone 501 77161 through 77163
Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom
edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat
of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany
tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the
Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy is based primarily on agriculture and
merchandising. Agriculture accounts for more than 30% of GDP and provides
75% of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost
40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner, is
assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an agricultural
diversification program.
GDP: $290 million, per capita $1,320; real growth rate 9% (1990
est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fish and forestry);
commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coca, citrus fruits;
expanding output of lumber and cultured shrimp; net importer of basic
foods
Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of cannabis for the
international drug trade; eradication program cut marijuana
production from 200 metric tons in 1987 to 66 metric tons in 1989;
transshipment point for cocaine
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $104
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $199 million
Currency: Belizean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Belizean dollar
(Bz$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 2,710 km total; 500 km paved, 1,600 km gravel, 300 km
improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft;
seasonally navigable
Ports: Belize City; additional ports for shallow draught craft
include Corozol, Punta Gorda, Big Creek
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airports: 42 total, 32 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on
radio relay; stations--6 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force (including
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 53,184; 31,790 fit for military
service; 2,545 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $4.8 million, 1.8% of GDP (1990 est.)
