Belize

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Governor-General: Sir Colville Young (1993)

Prime Minister: Said Musa (1998)

Land area: 8,803 sq mi (22,800 sq km); total area: 8,867 sq mi (22,966 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 287,730 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 28.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 24.9/1000; life expectancy: 68.3; density per sq mi: 33

Capital (2003 est.): Belmopan, 8,700

Largest city: Belize City, 52,600

Monetary unit: Belize dollar

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

Ethnicity/race: mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%

Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7%, Anglican 5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Mennonite 4%, Methodist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%), none 9%, other 14% (2000)

Literacy rate: 94% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $1.778 billion; per capita $6,800. Real growth rate: 3.8%. Inflation: 3%. Unemployment: 12.9% (2003). Arable land: 3.05%. Agriculture: bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments. Labor force: 90,000; note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel; agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55% (2001 est.). Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism, construction. Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower. Exports: $349.9 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood. Imports: $622.4 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco. Major trading partners: U.S., UK, Jamaica , Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, China, Japan (2004).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 33,300 (2003); mobile cellular: 60,400 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997). Internet hosts: 2,613 (2003). Internet users: 30,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 2,872 km; paved: 488 km; unpaved: 2,384 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004). Ports and harbors: Belize City. Airports: 43 (2004 est.).

International disputes: Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS is attempting to revive the 2002 failed 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.


 

Go to Country details page