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Compare Belize (2008) - Atlantic Ocean (2004)
Compare Belize (2008) z Atlantic Ocean (2004)
| Belize (2008) | Atlantic Ocean (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo | - |
| Age structure | 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.) |
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| Agriculture - products | bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments | - |
| Airports | 44 (2007) | - |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
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| Area | total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 76.762 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US |
| 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. 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. | The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
| Birth rate | 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues: $328.5 million
expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.) |
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| Capital | name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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| Climate | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) | tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November |
| Coastline | 386 km | 111,866 km |
| Constitution | 21 September 1981 | - |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
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| Death rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
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| Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
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| Disputes - international | 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 | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $12.91 million (2005) | - |
| Economy - overview | 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. | The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea). |
| Electricity - consumption | 162.8 million kWh (2005) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
| Electricity - production | 200 million kWh (2007 est.) | - |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal | endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea |
| 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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| Ethnic groups | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% | - |
| Exchange rates | 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 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 |
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| Exports | 1,960 bbl/day (2006) | - |
| Exports - commodities | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood | - |
| Exports - partners | US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) | - |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
| Flag description | 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: 21.3%
industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2007 est.) | - |
| Geographic coordinates | 17 15 N, 88 45 W | 0 00 N, 25 00 W |
| Geography - note | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean | major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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| Illicit drugs | 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 | 6,754 bbl/day (2004) | - |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco | - |
| Imports - partners | US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) | - |
| Independence | 21 September 1981 (from UK) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.5% (2007 est.) | - |
| Industries | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil | - |
| Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
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| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2007 est.) | - |
| International organization participation | 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 | 30 sq km (2003) | - |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) | - |
| Labor force | 113,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.) |
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| Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
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| Land use | arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
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| Languages | 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 | English law | - |
| Legislative branch | 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 |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.25 years
male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.) |
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| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census) |
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| Location | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico | body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Political Map of the World |
| Maritime claims | 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 |
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| Merchant marine | 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) |
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| Military branches | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
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| Natural hazards | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) | icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December) |
| Natural resources | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower | oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | 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 | 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 | 294,385 (July 2007 est.) | - |
| Population below poverty line | 33.5% (2002 est.) | - |
| Population growth rate | 2.258% (2007 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | - | Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) | - |
| Religions | 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: 1.05 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.) |
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| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
| Telephone system | 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) |
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| Telephones - main lines in use | 33,900 (2006) | - |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 118,300 (2006) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 5 (2006) | - |
| Terrain | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south | surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin |
| Total fertility rate | 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) | - |
| Transportation - note | - | Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US |
| Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2006) | - |
| Waterways | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) | - |
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