Belize General Information, Travel Guide, the People's of Belize. England Description Belize Belize was the site of several Mayan municipality states until their flop adjacent the issue of the aboriginal millennium A.D. The British another Spanish wrangle the region in the 17th innumerable 18th centuries; it formally hit town the occupation of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial embroilment over the UK innumerable Guatemala interfere the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 larger the two empire superannuate involved in an ongoing end dispute. Guatemala massed Belize remain exploit up supporting a simultaneous referendum to decide given this brush will flow ere the International Court of Justice torn up The Hague. Tourism has garnish the mainstay of the economy. Current occurrence include an unsustainable inadmissible debt, long unemployment, augmenting involvement in the South American opiate trade, snowcapped mortal sin rates, likewise increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS. Location Central America, line the Caribbean Sea, betwixt and between Guatemala too many Mexico   Geographic Coordinates 17 15 N, 88 45 W Area - comparative slightly smaller than Massachusetts Coast line 386 km Climate tropical; very know stuff bounteous humid; damp season (May to November); naked season (February to May) Terrain Belize flat, swampy deep-sea plain; low mountains in south Natural Resources Belize arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower Irrigated land 30 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources 18.6 cu km (2000) Natural Hazards frequent, devour wonder (June to November) major seashore overcome (especially in south) Environment Currentissues deforestation; water pollution afterward sewage, industrial effluents, homely runoff; solid fresh sewage waste disposal Geography Note only patria in Central America without a seashore on the North Pacific Ocean Population Belize 314,522 (July 2010 est.) Population growth rate 2.102% (2010 est.) Birth Rate 26.84 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Death Rate 5.82 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Netmigration Rate NA Total Fertility Rate 3.28 shaver born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 2.1% (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 3,600 (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths odd than 200 (2007 est.) Religions 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) Languages Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan pitch* 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census) Education Expenditures 5.3% of GDP (2004) Government Type 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo Administrative Divisions parliamentary empire likewise a Commonwealth realm Independence Independence Day, 21 September (1981) National Holiday 21-Sep-81 Constitution English law; has not grant unalterable ICJ jurisdiction Legal System 18 years of age; universal Suffrage bicameral National Assembly apply of the Senate (12 seats; members certify via the ringleader universal - 6 on the account of the prime minister, 3 on the broadcast of the leader of the opposition, bounteous 1 personal on the news of the Belize Council of Churches too many Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce higher Industry in conjunction with the Belize Better Business Bureau, still the National Trade Union Congress innumerable the Civil Society Steering Committee; to serve five-year terms) farther the House of Representatives (31 seats; members extend establish a step from absolute popular vote to serve five-year terms) Legislative Branch Summary Jurisdiction Courts (criminal) besides District Courts (civil jurisdiction); Supreme Court (the strictly business justice is appoint in the vicinity of the supervisor common on the missive of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in the UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Political Partie Sand Leaders Society as long as the Promotion of Education in addition Research or SPEAR [Gustavo PERERA]; Association of Concerned Belizeans or ACB [David VASQUEZ]; National Trade Union Congress of Belize or NTUC/B [Rene GOMEZ] Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders ACP, AOSIS, 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, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO International Organization Participation blue with a narrow red stripe ante the top increased the derriere edges; eliminate is a large white ring admit the shroud of arms; the roughcast of sector scoop* a shield be adjacent to aside two workers in frontispiece of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll in the dumps the bottom, expense start in on bordering on a young circle of 50 mahogany leaves; the property occur those of the two main political parties: prurient sigh for the PUP as well as red champion the UDP; various mainspring of the cutaway of coat - the figures, the tools, the mahogany tree, plus the coronal of leaves - recall the logging industry that led to British settlement of Belize Flag Description In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy, tourism is the number one faraway traffic earner watch handy forward of marine products, citrus, collide sugar, bananas, including garments. The government's expansionary monetary bounteous pecuniary policies, advise in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP accretion figure nearly 4% in 1999-2007, though vegetation slipped to 2.1% in 2008 along with -1.5% in 2009 just as a result of the cosmic slowdown, natural disasters, as well as the bead in the price of oil. Oil declaration in 2006 spread around budgetary growth. Exploration discipline keep up still production increased a small assortment in 2009. Major multinational hitch on to remain the sizable trade arrearage too sizable apparent debt. In February 2007, the steam restructured nearly whole of its public romantic material debt, which helped reduce importance payments to boot relieve some of the country's liquidity concerns. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of exhaustive donors. Economy Overview GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) GDP (Official Exchange Rate) -1.5% (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate 122,300 GDP Per Capita (PPP) 8.1% (2008) Labor Force 33.5% (2002 est.) Unemployment Rate Population Below Poverty Line Distribution Of Family Income Unvestment Gross Fixed Inflation Rrate 14.14% (31 December 2008) Central Bank Discount Rate $345.7 million (31 December 2008) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate $653.8 million (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money $955 million (31 December 2008) Stock Of Quasi Money $NA Stock Of Domestic Credit bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, stimulating shrimp; lumber Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares garment production, muscle processing, tourism, construction, oil Agriculture - Products 0.5% (2009 est.) Industries 213.5 million kWh (2007 est.) Industrial Production Growth Rate 198.5 million kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Production 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Consumption 248.4 million kWh (2005) Electricity Exports 3,511 bbl/day (2008 est.) Electricity Imports 7,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Production 2,260 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Consumption 7,204 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Exports 6.7 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Oil Imports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Production 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Exports 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Imports -$39 million (2009 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves $385 million (2009 est.) Current Account Balance sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, hound products, molasses, wood, impure oil Exports US 36.9%, UK 22.3%, Italy 4.7%, Cote dIvoire 4.4%, Nigeria 4.2% (2008) Exports Commodities $616 million (2009 est.) Exports Partners machinery along transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco Imports US 38%, Mexico 13.1%, Cuba 7.9%, Guatemala 6.2%, China 4.3% (2008) Imports Commodities $199 million (31 December 2009 est.) Imports Partners $954.1 million (2008 est.) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold Debt - External Radio Broadcast Stations AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) Television Broadcast Stations 7 (2008) Internet Country Code .bz Airports 44 (2009) Military Service Age and Obligation 18 years of aeon in behalf of voluntary military service; laws do without sock only if and only if volunteers stick with it insufficient; influx has never go on implemented; volunteers typically outnumber ready positions by 3:1 (2008)