Compare Bahamas, The (2008) - Belize (2008)

Compare Bahamas, The (2008) z Belize (2008)

	Bahamas, The (2008)	Belize (2008)

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, Nichollstown 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: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 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	62 (2007)	44 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)	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: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)	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	Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. 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 Europe, 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	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)	revenues: $328.5 million expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Nassau geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November	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
Death rate	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$342.6 million (2004 est.)	$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District mailing address: P.O. Box 497, Belmopan City, Cayo District, Belize telephone: [501] 822-4011 FAX: [501] 822-4012
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) 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	disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters	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	$4.78 million (2004)	$12.91 million (2005)
Economy - overview	The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the 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 1999-2007. Oil discoveries in 2006 bolstered the economic growth in 2006 and 2007. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. In February 2007, the government restructured nearly all of its public external commercial debt, which will reduce interest payments and create the liquidity relief needed for an increase in public spending in the run-up to the March 2008 elections. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.
Electricity - consumption	1.762 billion kWh (2005)	162.8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	1.894 billion kWh (2005)	200 million kWh (2007 est.)
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, 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 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) 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; 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; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister	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 Dean BARROW (since 8 February 2008); Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar VEGA (since 12 February 2008) 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	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)	1,960 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
Exports - partners	Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006)	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 21.3% industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.8% (2007 est.)	3% (2007 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 of which 30 are inhabited	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center	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	68,250 bbl/day (2004)	6,754 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco
Imports - partners	US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)	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%	0.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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)	2.4% (2007 est.)	2.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (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
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)	30 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts	Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)
Labor force	181,900 (2006)	113,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 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: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)	arable land: 3.05% permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005)
Languages	English (official), 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 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18	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 (31 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 6 February 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDP 25, PUP 6
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 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: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 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, northeast of Cuba	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)	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 Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2006)	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 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	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]	National Alliance for Belizean Rights or NABR; National Reform Party or NRP [Cornelius DUECK]; People's National Party or PNP [Wil MAHEIA]; 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 or WTP [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	305,655 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 2007 est.)	294,385 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	9.3% (2004)	33.5% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	0.602% (2007 est.)	2.258% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)	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: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 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; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007)	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	133,100 (2005)	33,900 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	227,800 (2005)	118,300 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2006)	5 (2006)
Terrain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Total fertility rate	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	7.6% (2006 est.)	9.4% (2006)
Waterways	-	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)

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