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Compare Belize (2008) - Reunion (2006)

Compare Belize (2008) z Reunion (2006)

 Belize (2008)Reunion (2006)
 BelizeReunion
Administrative divisions 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons
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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)


15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156)


65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Airports 44 (2007) 2 (2006)
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


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 40


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 12


under 914 m: 27 (2007)
-
Area total: 22,966 sq km


land: 22,806 sq km


water: 160 sq km
total: 2,517 sq km


land: 2,507 sq km


water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Massachusetts slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
Birth rate 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $328.5 million


expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.)
revenues: $554.7 million


expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)
Capital name: Belmopan


geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W


time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Saint-Denis


geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 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, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
Coastline 386 km 207 km
Constitution 21 September 1981 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Belize


former: British Honduras
conventional long form: Department of Reunion


conventional short form: Reunion


local long form: none


local short form: Ile de la Reunion


former: Bourbon Island
Death rate 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) $NA
Dependency status - overseas department of France
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
none (overseas department of France)
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
none (overseas department of France)
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 none
Economic aid - recipient $12.91 million (2005) $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)
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 economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Electricity - consumption 162.8 million kWh (2005) 1.107 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production 200 million kWh (2007 est.) 1.19 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal NA
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
-
Ethnic groups mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
Exchange rates Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003) euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)


head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993)


cabinet: NA


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Exports 1,960 bbl/day (2006) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%
Exports - partners US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
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 unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 21.3%


industry: 13.7%


services: 65% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 8%


industry: 19%


services: 73% (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3% (2007 est.) 2.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 17 15 N, 88 45 W 21 06 S, 55 36 E
Geography - note only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean
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 -
Imports 6,754 bbl/day (2004) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004)
Independence 21 September 1981 (from UK) none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate 0.5% (2007 est.) NA%
Industries garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
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: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.8% (2007 est.) NA%
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 InOC, UPU, WFTU
Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) 120 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Labor force 113,000


note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)
299,000 (2002)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 22.5%


industry: 15.2%


services: 62.3% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 13%


industry: 12%


services: 75% (2000)
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: 13.94%


permanent crops: 1.59%


other: 84.47% (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) French (official), Creole widely used
Legal system English law French 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
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010)


election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7


note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.25 years


male: 66.44 years


female: 70.16 years (2007 est.)
total population: 74.18 years


male: 70.78 years


female: 77.75 years (2006 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: 88.9%


male: 87%


female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
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 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
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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)
registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (2006) -
National holiday Independence Day, 21 September (1981) Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality noun: Belizean(s)


adjective: Belizean
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)


adjective: Reunionese
Natural hazards frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Natural resources arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower fish, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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] Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP
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] NA
Population 294,385 (July 2007 est.) 787,584 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line 33.5% (2002 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.258% (2007 est.) 1.34% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) AM 2, FM 55, 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) Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis


domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use 33,900 (2006) 300,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 118,300 (2006) 579,200 (2004)
Television broadcast stations 5 (2006) 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Total fertility rate 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 9.4% (2006) 31% (2002)
Waterways 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) -
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