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Compare Bahamas, The (2001) - Belize (2007)
Compare Bahamas, The (2001) z Belize (2007)
| Bahamas, The (2001) | Belize (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486) 15-64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674) 65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 58,459/female 56,183)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 85,686/female 83,717) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,979/female 5,361) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
| Airports | 65 (2000 est.) | 44 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
| Area | total:
13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
| Background | Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | 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. 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, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS. |
| Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$766 million expenditures: $845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98) |
revenues: $302.6 million
expenditures: $324.9 million (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Nassau | name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
| Coastline | 3,542 km | 386 km |
| Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 21 September 1981 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | - |
| Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $385.8 million (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP embassy: Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER
embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District mailing address: 3050 Belize Place, Washington DC 20521-3050 telephone: [501] 822-4011 FAX: [501] 822-4012 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN
chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
| Disputes - international | none | annual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; Honduras claims Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays in its constitution but agreed to a joint ecological park under the Differendum |
| Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $NA (2005) |
| Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. | In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by exports of 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 4% in 1999-2006. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. The government in 2006 announced it would seek a restructuring of its sovereign debt and has been negotiating with international creditors to find an acceptable formula for doing so. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.362 billion kWh (1999) | 162.8 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 1.465 billion kWh (1999) | 175 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
| Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Vildo MARIN (since 5 June 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
| Exports | $376.8 million (2000 est.) | 1,960 bbl/day (2006) |
| Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
| Exports - partners | US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) | US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | 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 |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 14.8% services: 62.6% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
| Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering | transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector |
| Imports | $1.73 billion (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
| Imports - partners | US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) | US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) |
| Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (1999) |
| Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil |
| Infant mortality rate | 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
| Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 113,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
| Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
| Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census) |
| Legal system | based on English common law | English law |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 seats; 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; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - number of seats will increase to 31 next election
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.46 years male: 67.27 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.25 years
male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census) |
| Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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 |
| Merchant marine | total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT ships by type: bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 261 ships (1000 GRT or over) 940,852 GRT/1,275,111 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 36, cargo 190, chemical tanker 5, container 5, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 217 (China 107, Croatia 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 1, Hong Kong 5, Iceland 1, Italy 4, Japan 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 14, Norway 3, Peru 1, Philippines 1, Russia 39, Singapore 3, Spain 2, Turkey 11, Ukraine 10, UAE 4, US 3) (2007) |
| Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2006) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
| Nationality | noun:
Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
| Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | National Alliance for Belizean Rights or NABR; National Reform Party or NRP [Cornelius DUECK]; People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW]; Vision Inspired by the People or VIP [Paul MORGAN]; We the People Reform Movement [Hipolito BAUTISTA] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Gustavo PERERA]; Association of Concerned Belizeans or ACB [David VASQUEZ]; National Trade Union Congress of Belize or NTUC/B [Rene GOMEZ] |
| Population | 297,852
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
294,385 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 33.5% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 2.258% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) |
| Radios | 215,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | 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) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.929 male(s)/female total population: 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: above-average system; fixed-line teledensity of 12 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 40 per 100 persons
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 33,900 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 118,300 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 5 (2006) |
| Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
| Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9% (1998 est.) | 9.4% (2006) |
| Waterways | none | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) |
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