West Bank (2003) | Belize (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 505,880; female 481,369)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 598,992; female 572,511) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 33,688; female 44,754) (2003 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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 44 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. | 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 | 34.07 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $930 million
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.) |
revenues: $302.6 million
expenditures: $324.9 million (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Belmopan
geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 46 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 386 km |
Constitution | - | 21 September 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
Death rate | 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | 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 | $800 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | $NA (2005) |
Economy - overview | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip have prevented the complete collapse of the economy. | 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 | NA kWh | 162.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 175 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | 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 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 | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip | 1,960 bbl/day (2006) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | US 33.9%, UK 33.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 3.7% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 14.8% services: 62.6% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -22% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
- |
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 |
Imports | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | US 35.7%, Mexico 13%, Cuba 7.7%, Guatemala 7.2%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | - | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (1999) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 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) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | 4.3% (2006 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | NA | 113,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture: 22.5%
industry: 15.2% services: 62.3% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 95.56% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | 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 | - | English law |
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 (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: 72.68 years
male: 70.95 years female: 74.51 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 68.25 years
male: 66.44 years female: 70.16 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9% male: 76.7% female: 77.1% (2000 census) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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: 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 | - | 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, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | droughts | 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 | 3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 | - | 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 | 2,237,194 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
294,385 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2002 est.) | 33.5% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | 2.258% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 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 |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
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 | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 33,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 118,300 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 5 (2006) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) | 9.4% (2006) |
Waterways | none | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007) |