Compare Belize (2008) - Mauritius (2008)

Compare Belize (2008) z Mauritius (2008)

	Belize (2008)	Mauritius (2008)

Administrative divisions	6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo	9 districts and 3 dependencies; Agalega Islands, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues, Savanne
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.)	0-14 years: 23.5% (male 147,808/female 146,270) 15-64 years: 69.8% (male 436,043/female 437,441) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 32,475/female 50,845) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments	sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish
Airports	44 (2007)	5 (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)	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007)	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 2,040 sq km land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Massachusetts	almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC
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.	Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.
Birth rate	28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $328.5 million expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.)	revenues: $1.34 billion expenditures: $1.642 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Belmopan geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Port Louis geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)	tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
Coastline	386 km	177 km
Constitution	21 September 1981	12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras	conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius
Death rate	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)	$2.583 billion (31 December 2007 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	chief of mission: Ambassador Cesar CABRERA embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534
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	chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983
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	Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island
Economic aid - recipient	$12.91 million (2005)	$31.93 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.	Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Electricity - consumption	162.8 million kWh (2005)	1.973 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	200 million kWh (2007 est.)	2.122 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal	water pollution, degradation of coral reefs
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	party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%	Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
Exchange rates	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)	Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (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	chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003
Exports	1,960 bbl/day (2006)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood	clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish
Exports - partners	US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006)	UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
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	four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 21.3% industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 4.8% industry: 25% services: 70.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2007 est.)	5.5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	17 15 N, 88 45 W	20 17 S, 57 33 E
Geography - note	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean	the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs
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; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector	consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry
Imports	6,754 bbl/day (2004)	21,380 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco	manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006)	France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006)
Independence	21 September 1981 (from UK)	12 March 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	0.5% (2007 est.)	4.7% (2007 est.)
Industries	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil	food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
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.)	total: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2007 est.)	9.1% (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	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	220 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)	Supreme Court
Labor force	113,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)	550,000 (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 22.5% industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.)	agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995)
Land boundaries	total: 516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 3.05% permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005)	arable land: 49.02% permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005)
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)	Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Legal system	English law	based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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	unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.25 years male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.)	total population: 72.88 years male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census)
Location	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
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	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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)	total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,417 GRT/19,700 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (India 2) (2007)
Military branches	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard	no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2006)	0.3% (2006 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1981)	Independence Day, 12 March (1968)
Nationality	noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean	noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian
Natural hazards	frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)	cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards
Natural resources	arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower	arable land, fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.4 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]	Alliance Sociale or AS [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLD, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMXD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MMSM [Madan DOLLOO]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Nando BODHA]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval or PMXD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR]
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]	various labor unions
Population	294,385 (July 2007 est.)	1,250,882 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	33.5% (2002 est.)	10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	2.258% (2007 est.)	0.798% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001)
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)	Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
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.)	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.997 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	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)	general assessment: small system with good service domestic: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with teledensity in 2006 exceeding 60 per 100 persons international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries
Telephones - main lines in use	33,900 (2006)	357,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	118,300 (2006)	772,400 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	5 (2006)	2 (plus several repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south	small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau
Total fertility rate	3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	9.4% (2006)	9.2% (2007 est.)
Waterways	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)	-

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