BELIZE                                                                          
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 22,960 km2; land area: 22,800 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts                            
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 516 km total; Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km                  
                                                                                
Coastline: 386 km                                                               
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 3 nm                                                           
                                                                                
Disputes: claimed by Guatemala, but boundary negotiations to                    
resolve dispute are nearing completion                                          
                                                                                
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to                     
February)                                                                       
                                                                                
Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south                     
                                                                                
Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish                          
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and                    
pastures 2%; forest and woodland 44%; other 52%, includes irrigated             
NEGL%                                                                           
                                                                                
Environment: frequent devastating hurricanes (September to                      
December) and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation             
                                                                                
Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to                   
Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a       
coastline on the North Pacific Ocean                                            
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 228,069 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)                        
                                                                                
Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 35 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: male 67 years, female 72 years (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Belizean(s); adjective--Belizean                             
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Creole 39.7%, Mestizo 33.1%, Maya 9.5%, Garifuna              
7.6%, East Indian 2.1%, other 8.0%                                              
                                                                                
Religion: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%,                     
Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%,           
Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 3%, other 3%                
(1980)                                                                          
                                                                                
Language: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)                   
                                                                                
Literacy: 91% (male 91%, female 91%) age 15 and over having ever                
attended school (1970)                                                          
                                                                                
Labor force: 51,500; agriculture 30.0%, services 16.0%, government              
15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3%; shortage of skilled                 
labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)                               
                                                                                
Organized labor: 12% of labor force; 7 unions currently active                  
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: none                                                            
                                                                                
Type: parliamentary democracy                                                   
                                                                                
Capital: Belmopan                                                               
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal,                   
Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo                                                
                                                                                
Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK; formerly British                      
Honduras)                                                                       
                                                                                
Constitution: 21 September 1981                                                 
                                                                                
Legal system: English law                                                       
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September                                
                                                                                
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime                      
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet                                        
                                                                                
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an                  
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives             
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court                                                  
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),                     
represented by Governor General Dame Elmira Minita GORDON (since 21             
September 1981);                                                                
                                                                                
Head of Government--Prime Minister George Cadle PRICE (since 4                  
September 1989)                                                                 
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
People's United Party (PUP), George PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA;          
United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW;        
Belize Popular Party (BPP), Louis SYLVESTRE                                     
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 18                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held 4 September 1989 (next to be                       
held September 1994);                                                           
results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(28 total)                         
PUP 15 seats, UDP 13 seats; note--in January 1990 one                           
member expelled from UDP joined PUP, making the seat count                      
16 PUP, UDP 12                                                                  
                                                                                
Communists: negligible                                                          
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion                   
of Education and Research (SPEAR) headed by former PUP minister;                
United Workers Front                                                            
                                                                                
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, IDA,             
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, (observer), ITU, LORCS,                
NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WMO                              
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador James V. HYDE; Chancery at                
Suite 2J, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone           
(202) 363-4505;                                                                 
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Eugene L. SCASSA; Embassy at Gabourel Lane and                   
Hutson Street, Belize City (mailing address is P. O. Box 286, Belize            
City); telephone  501  77161 through 77163                                      
                                                                                
Flag: 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              
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The economy is based primarily on agriculture and                     
merchandising. Agriculture accounts for more than 30% of GDP and provides       
75% of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost        
40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner, is        
assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an agricultural         
diversification program.                                                        
                                                                                
GDP: $290 million, per capita $1,320; real growth rate 9% (1990                 
est.)                                                                           
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1990 est.)                              
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 12% (1988)                                                   
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $87.4 million; expenditures $130.5 million,                    
including capital expenditures of $53.5 million (FY90 est.)                     
                                                                                
Exports: $108 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--sugar, clothing, seafood, molasses, citrus, wood and               
wood products;                                                                  
                                                                                
partners--US 47%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada (1987)                        
                                                                                
Imports: $204 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, food,                      
manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;                          
                                                                                
partners--US 55%, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (1987)                       
                                                                                
External debt: $169 million (December 1990)                                     
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 9.7% (1989); accounts for                    
16% of GDP                                                                      
                                                                                
Electricity: 34,700 kW capacity; 90 million kWh produced,                       
410 kWh per capita (1990)                                                       
                                                                                
Industries: garment production, citrus concentrates, sugar                      
refining, rum, beverages, tourism                                               
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fish and forestry);             
commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coca, citrus fruits;               
expanding output of lumber and cultured shrimp; net importer of basic           
foods                                                                           
                                                                                
Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of cannabis for the                          
international drug trade; eradication program cut marijuana                     
production from 200 metric tons in 1987 to 66 metric tons in 1989;              
transshipment point for cocaine                                                 
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $104                   
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $199 million                                                         
                                                                                
Currency: Belizean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Belizean dollar                  
(Bz$) = 100 cents                                                               
Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate)              
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March                                                   
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: 2,710 km total; 500 km paved, 1,600 km gravel, 300 km                 
improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth                                     
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft;             
seasonally navigable                                                            
                                                                                
Ports: Belize City; additional ports for shallow draught craft                  
include Corozol, Punta Gorda, Big Creek                                         
                                                                                
Civil air: no major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 42 total, 32 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;                
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m                    
                                                                                
Telecommunications: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on             
radio relay; stations--6 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean          
INTELSAT earth station                                                          
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force (including                
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police             
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 53,184; 31,790 fit for military             
service; 2,545 reach military age (18) annually                                 
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $4.8 million, 1.8% of GDP (1990 est.)                     
                                                                                
