Compare Belize (2008) - Sierra Leone (2007)

Compare Belize (2008) z Sierra Leone (2007)

	Belize (2008)	Sierra Leone (2007)

Administrative divisions	6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports	44 (2007)	10 (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: 1 over 3,047 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: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Area	total: 22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Massachusetts	slightly smaller than South Carolina
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 government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.
Birth rate	28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $328.5 million expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.)	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 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: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 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; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline	386 km	402 km
Constitution	21 September 1981	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone
Death rate	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)	$1.61 billion (2003 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 Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471
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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
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	as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient	$12.91 million (2005)	$343.4 million (2005 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.	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.
Electricity - consumption	162.8 million kWh (2005)	227.9 million 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.)	245 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Exchange rates	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)	leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)
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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
Exports	1,960 bbl/day (2006)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners	US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006)	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)
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	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 21.3% industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2007 est.)	7.1% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	17 15 N, 88 45 W	8 30 N, 11 30 W
Geography - note	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Heliports	-	2 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
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	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006)	Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)
Independence	21 September 1981 (from UK)	27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	0.5% (2007 est.)	NA%
Industries	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
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: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2007 est.)	1% (2002 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	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	300 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; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force	113,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)	1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 22.5% industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.)	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	total: 516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use	arable land: 3.05% permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005)	arable land: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (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)	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Legal system	English law	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.25 years male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.)	total population: 40.58 years male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
Location	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Africa
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 contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 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)	total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)
Military branches	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2006)	2.3% (2006)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1981)	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality	noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards	frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources	arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (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]	All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others
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]	trade unions and student unions
Population	294,385 (July 2007 est.)	6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	33.5% (2002 est.)	70.2% (2004)
Population growth rate	2.258% (2007 est.)	2.292% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (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)	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	33,900 (2006)	24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	118,300 (2006)	113,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	5 (2006)	2 (1999)
Terrain	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate	3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.)	6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	9.4% (2006)	NA%
Waterways	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)

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