Saint Kitts and Nevis (2001) | Belize (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capisterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.84% (male 5,909; female 5,654) 15-64 years: 61.37% (male 11,870; female 11,915) 65 years and over: 8.79% (male 1,406; female 2,002) (2001 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, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish | bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 44 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
Area | total:
261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. | 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 | 18.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$64.1 million expenditures: $73.3 million, including capital expenditures of $10.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $328.5 million
expenditures: $365 million (2007 est.) |
Capital | Basseterre | name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 135 km | 386 km |
Constitution | 19 September 1983 | 21 September 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 9.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $115.1 million (1998) | $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Dr. Osbert W. LIBURD chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 |
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 |
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 | $5.5 million (1995) | $12.91 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally depended on the growing and processing of sugarcane; decreasing world prices have hurt the industry in recent years. Tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking activity have assumed larger roles. Most food is imported. The government has undertaken a program designed to revitalize the faltering sugar sector. It is also working to improve revenue collection in order to better fund social programs. In 1997 some leaders in Nevis were urging separation from Saint Kitts on the basis that Nevis was paying far more in taxes than it was receiving in government services, but the vote on cessation failed in August 1998. In late September 1998, Hurricane Georges caused approximately $445 million in damages and limited GDP growth for the year. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (1999) | 162.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (1999) | 200 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling 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 | predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 |
Exports | $53.2 million (2000 est.) | 1,960 bbl/day (2006) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 est.) | US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red | 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 | purchasing power parity - $274 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5.5% industry: 22.5% services: 72% (1996) |
agriculture: 21.3%
industry: 13.7% services: 65% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 20 N, 62 45 W | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | - | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
320 km paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | 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 | $151.5 million (2000 est.) | 6,754 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
Imports - partners | US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.) | US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 19 September 1983 (from UK) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil |
Infant mortality rate | 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 18,172 (June 1995) | 113,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | 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:
22% permanent crops: 17% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 17% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
Languages | English | 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 | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.01 years male: 68.22 years female: 73.97 years (2001 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: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
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 | none (2000 est.) | 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 | Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force, Coast Guard, Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun:
Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to October) | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
Natural resources | arable land | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -10.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 | 38,756 (July 2001 est.) | 294,385 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 33.5% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.11% (2001 est.) | 2.258% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Basseterre, Charlestown | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) |
Radios | 28,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
58 km narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (1995) |
- |
Religions | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | 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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
good interisland and international connections domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
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 | 17,000 (1997) | 33,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 205 (1997) | 118,300 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 5 (2006) |
Terrain | volcanic with mountainous interiors | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.41 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) | 9.4% (2006) |
Waterways | none | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) |