Compare Belize (2008) - Singapore (2005)

Compare Belize (2008) z Singapore (2005)

	Belize (2008)	Singapore (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo	none
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: 16% (male 366,971/female 342,295) 15-64 years: 75.9% (male 1,639,842/female 1,719,829) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 157,636/female 199,147) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments	rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish
Airports	44 (2007)	10 (2004 est.)
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: 10 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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: 692.7 sq km land: 682.7 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Massachusetts	slightly more than 3.5 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.	Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Birth rate	28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $328.5 million expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.)	revenues: $17.05 billion expenditures: $18.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Belmopan geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Singapore
Climate	tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)	tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
Coastline	386 km	193 km
Constitution	21 September 1981	3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras	conventional long form: Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore
Death rate	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)	$19.4 billion (2004 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 Franklin L. LAVIN embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9340
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 CHAN Heng Chee chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: San Francisco consulate(s): New York
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	disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Economic aid - recipient	$12.91 million (2005)	NA
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.	Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP equal to that of the Big 4 West European countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession, by the slump in the technology sector, and by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, which curbed tourism and consumer spending. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004, with real GDP rising by 8 percent, by far the economy's best performance since 2000.
Electricity - consumption	162.8 million kWh (2005)	32 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.)	35.33 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m	lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal	industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution 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%	Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
Exchange rates	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)	Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.724 (2000)
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 Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999) head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers Shunmugan JAYAKUMAR (since 12 August 2004) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term; last appointed 17 August 2005 (next election to be held by August 2011); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN appointed president in August 2005 after Presidential Elections Committee disqualified three other would-be candidates
Exports	1,960 bbl/day (2006)	NA
Exports - commodities	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood	machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006)	Malaysia 15.2%, US 13%, Hong Kong 9.8%, China 8.6%, Japan 6.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	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	two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 21.3% industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 0% negligible industry: 32.6% services: 67.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $27,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2007 est.)	8.1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	17 15 N, 88 45 W	1 22 N, 103 48 E
Geography - note	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean	focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
Highways	-	total: 3,130 km paved: 3,130 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002)
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	as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to be used as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering
Imports	6,754 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco	machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006)	Malaysia 15.3%, US 12.7%, Japan 11.7%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 5.7%, South Korea 4.3%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)
Independence	21 September 1981 (from UK)	9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Industrial production growth rate	0.5% (2007 est.)	11.1% (2004 est.)
Industries	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil	electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade
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: 2.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2007 est.)	1.7% (2004 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	APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)	Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals
Labor force	113,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)	2.18 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 22.5% industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.)	manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 49%, other 16% (2003)
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: 1.64% permanent crops: 0% other: 98.36% (2001)
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)	Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Legal system	English law	based on English common law; 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 (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held not later than 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SPP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.25 years male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.)	total population: 81.62 years male: 79.05 years female: 84.39 years (2005 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: 92.5% male: 96.6% female: 88.6% (2002)
Location	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico	Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Southeast Asia
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: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
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: 923 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 23,065,290 GRT/36,393,317 DWT by type: bulk carrier 138, cargo 86, chemical tanker 115, combination ore/oil 5, container 180, liquefied gas 42, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 316, refrigerated cargo 3, vehicle carrier 36 foreign-owned: 487 (Australia 5, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 10, China 15, Denmark 34, Germany 7, Greece 5, Hong Kong 43, India 3, Indonesia 54, Japan 83, Malaysia 31, Norway 83, Philippines 3, Russia 1, Slovenia 1, South Korea 12, Sweden 12, Taiwan 44, Thailand 17, UAE 6, United Kingdom 12, United States 5) registered in other countries: 276 (2005)
Military branches	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard	Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$4.47 billion (FY01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2006)	4.9% (FY01)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1981)	National Day, 9 August (1965)
Nationality	noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean	noun: Singaporean(s) adjective: Singapore
Natural hazards	frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)	NA
Natural resources	arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower	fish, deepwater ports
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 139 km (2004)
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]	governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [vacant] (SDA group); Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [Desmond LIM] (SDA group); Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Malik ISMAIL] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia Lim Swee LIAN]
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.)	4,425,720 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	33.5% (2002 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	2.258% (2007 est.)	1.56% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Singapore
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
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)	Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (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: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal and compulsory
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: excellent service domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: country code - 65; submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	33,900 (2006)	1,896,100 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	118,300 (2006)	3,521,800 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	5 (2006)	7 (2003)
Terrain	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south	lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
Total fertility rate	3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	9.4% (2006)	3.4% (2004 est.)
Waterways	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)	-

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