Compare Jamaica (2008) - Belize (2007)

Compare Jamaica (2008) z Belize (2007)

	Jamaica (2008)	Belize (2007)

Administrative divisions	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation	6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963) 15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks	bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments
Airports	34 (2007)	44 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007)	total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007)	total: 40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007)
Area	total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Background	The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.	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.
Birth rate	20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.441 billion expenditures: $3.905 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $302.6 million expenditures: $324.9 million (2006 est.)
Capital	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Belmopan geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior	tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
Coastline	1,022 km	386 km
Constitution	6 August 1962	21 September 1981
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras
Death rate	6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$7.138 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District mailing address: 3050 Belize Place, Washington DC 20521-3050 telephone: [501] 822-4011 FAX: [501] 822-4012
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
Disputes - international	none	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
Economic aid - recipient	$35.74 million (2005)	$NA (2005)
Economy - overview	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.	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 1999-2006. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. The government in 2006 announced it would seek a restructuring of its sovereign debt and has been negotiating with international creditors to find an acceptable formula for doing so. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.
Electricity - consumption	6.131 billion kWh (2005)	162.8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	6.985 billion kWh (2005)	175 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m
Environment - current issues	heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions	deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)	mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%
Exchange rates	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003)	Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) 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 on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister	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 Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Vildo MARIN (since 5 June 2007) 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
Exports	1,531 bbl/day (2004)	1,960 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels	sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
Exports - partners	US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006)	US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)	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: 5% industry: 34% services: 61% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 22.5% industry: 14.8% services: 62.6% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.5% (2007 est.)	3.5% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 15 N, 77 30 W	17 15 N, 88 45 W
Geography - note	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal	only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions	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	71,420 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco
Imports - partners	US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006)	US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006)
Independence	6 August 1962 (from UK)	21 September 1981 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2007 est.)	4.6% (1999)
Industries	tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications	garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil
Infant mortality rate	total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7.1% (2007 est.)	4.3% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	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	250 sq km (2002)	30 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal	Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)
Labor force	1.255 million (2007 est.)	113,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 17% industry: 19% services: 64% (2006)	agriculture: 22.5% industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Land use	arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)	arable land: 3.05% permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005)
Languages	English, English patois	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	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	English law
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27	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 (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - number of seats will increase to 31 next election elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held in March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.12 years male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.)	total population: 68.25 years male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census)
Location	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba	Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin	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
Merchant marine	total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)	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)
Military branches	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007)	Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.6% (2006 est.)	1.4% (2006)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)	Independence Day, 21 September (1981)
Nationality	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican	noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean
Natural hazards	hurricanes (especially July to November)	frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
Natural resources	bauxite, gypsum, limestone	arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	-6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]	National Alliance for Belizean Rights or NABR; National Reform Party or NRP [Cornelius DUECK]; 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 [Hipolito BAUTISTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)	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	2,780,132 (July 2007 est.)	294,385 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	14.8% (2003 est.)	33.5% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	0.777% (2007 est.)	2.258% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)	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: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	319,000 (2005)	33,900 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.804 million (2005)	118,300 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	7 (1997)	5 (2006)
Terrain	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain	flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Total fertility rate	2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	10.2% (2007 est.)	9.4% (2006)
Waterways	-	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)

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