]! ^! Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime. 
]" ^" Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico ^# 17 15 N, 88 45 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 22,966 sq km `" 22,806 sq km `# 160 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Massachusetts ^' `! 516 km `U Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km ^( 386 km ^) `$ 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 `I 200 nm ^* tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) ^+ flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Victoria Peak 1,160 m ^- arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower ^. `' 2.85% `( 1.71% `) 95.44% (2001) ^/ 30 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) ^1 deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean 
]# ^3 279,457 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 40.1% (male 57,114/female 54,877) `+ 56.4% (male 79,694/female 77,881) `, 3.5% (male 4,768/female 5,123) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 19.35 years `- 19.21 years `. 19.49 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.33% (2005 est.) ^7 29.34 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.93 male(s)/female `1 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 25.69 deaths/1,000 live births `- 28.97 deaths/1,000 live births `. 22.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 68.44 years `- 66.54 years `. 70.44 years (2005 est.) ^= 3.68 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 2.4% (2003 est.) ^? 3,600 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Belizean(s) `3 Belizean ^B mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% ^C 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) ^D English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 94.1% `- 94.1% `. 94.1% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Belize `X British Honduras ^H parliamentary democracy ^I Belmopan ^J 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo ^K 21 September 1981 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 21 September (1981) ^M 21 September 1981 ^N English law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993) `7 Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) `8 Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `9 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 ^Q bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - six on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one 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) `9 House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 ^R Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) ^S People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman] ^T Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele CATZIM] ^U ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, 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 ^V `N Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN `O 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 332-9636 `Q [1] (202) 332-6888 `R Los Angeles ^W `N Ambassador Russell F. FREEMAN `Z 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City `[ P. O. Box 286, Belize City `P [501] 227-7161 through 7163 `Q [501] 2-30802 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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 6% in 1999-2004. 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. ^Z $1.778 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 3.5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2004 est.) ^] `; 17.7% `< 15% `= 67.3% (2003 est.) ^^ 90,000 note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.) ^_ agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55% (2001 est.) ^` 12.9% (2003) ^a 33% (1999 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 2.9% (2004 est.) _P 33.6% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $244.5 million `A $300 million, including capital expenditures of $70 million (2004 est.) _$ bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments _% garment production, food processing, tourism, construction _& 4.6% (1999) _' 117 million kWh (2002) _( 108.8 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 5,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-115 million (2004 est.) _/ $401.4 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood _1 US 37.2%, UK 26.8%, Jamaica 4.6% (2004) _2 $579.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco _4 US 30.1%, Mexico 12%, Guatemala 7.4%, Cuba 7.2%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2004) _Y $111.1 million (2004 est.) _5 $1.362 billion (June 2004 est.) _6 NA _7 Belizean dollar (BZD) _8 Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 33,300 (2003) _; 60,400 (2003) _< `B above-average system `C trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay `D country code - 501; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 2 (1997) _? .bz _@ 2,613 (2003) _A 30,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 2,872 km `E 488 km `F 2,384 km (1999 est.) _b 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004) _C Belize City _K `! 295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,015,270 GRT/1,336,890 DWT by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 207, chemical tanker 9, container 6, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 5 `S 142 (Australia 2, Belgium 1, China 50, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 9, Germany 4, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 3, Italy 2, Japan 5, Latvia 4, Malaysia 1, Nigeria 1, Pakistan 1, Poland 2, Russia 23, Singapore 5, South Korea 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 2, Ukraine 4, UAE 3, United States 2) (2005) _D 43 (2004 est.) _E `! 5 `^ 1 `_ 2 `T 2 (2004 est.) _L `! 38 `G 1 `_ 11 `T 26 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription has never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available positions by 3:1 (2001) _] males age 18-49: 60,750 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 41,368 (2005 est.) _^ `` 3,209 (2005 est.) _N $18 million (2003) _O 2% (2003) 
]) _H Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS is attempting to revive the 2002 failed 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 _I major 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 