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Compare Sierra Leone (2001) - Belize (2006)
Compare Sierra Leone (2001) z Belize (2006)
| Sierra Leone (2001) | Belize (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.5% (male 57,923/female 55,678)
15-64 years: 57% (male 82,960/female 81,046) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,888/female 5,235) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
| Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 43 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 26 (2006) |
| Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
| Background | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. | 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 high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime. |
| Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.84 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $262 million
expenditures: $329 million; including capital expenditures of $70 million (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Freetown | 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; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
| Coastline | 402 km | 386 km |
| Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 21 September 1981 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
| Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
| Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $1.362 billion (June 2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert J. DIETER
embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City telephone: [501] 227-7161 through 7163 FAX: [501] 223-0802 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
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 | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS seeks to revive the 2002 failed Belize-Guatemala Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package |
| Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds 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. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by 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 5% in 1999-2005. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors. |
| Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 111.6 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 120 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
| Environment - current issues | 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 depleting natural resources; overfishing | 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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 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 | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
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 John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) 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 | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
| Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | US 30.6%, UK 25%, France 4.8% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | 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 - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 14.2%
industry: 15.2% services: 61.2% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 3.8% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
| Geography - note | - | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector |
| Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
| Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | US 31%, Mexico 11.6%, Russia 8.8%, Cuba 6%, Guatemala 5.6%, China 4.6%, Spain 4.4% (2005) |
| Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (1999) |
| Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction |
| Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
| Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
90,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 27%
industry: 18% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
| Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
| Languages | 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%) | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
| Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
| Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 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; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.3 years
male: 66.43 years female: 70.26 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1% male: 94.1% female: 94.1% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 285 ships (1000 GRT or over) 985,464 GRT/1,322,629 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 203, chemical tanker 7, container 4, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 225 (China 103, Croatia 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 3, Germany 3, Greece 2, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 2, Indonesia 2, Italy 4, Japan 2, North Korea 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 6, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Norway 2, Poland 2, Russia 36, Singapore 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 11, UAE 5, Ukraine 7, US 5) (2006) |
| Military branches | Army | Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $19 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
| Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
| Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
| Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] | People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele CATZIM] |
| Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 287,730 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 33% (1999 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 2.31% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
- |
| Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | 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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2005) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 33,300 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 93,100 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 2 (1997) |
| Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
| Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.6 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 12.9% (2003) |
| Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2005) |
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