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Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
(1952)
Governor-General: Sir Colville Young
(1993)
Prime Minister: Said Musa
(1998)
Current government officials
Land area: 8,803 sq mi (22,800 sq km);
total area: 8,867 sq mi (22,966 sq km)
Population (2008 est.): 301,022 (growth
rate: 2.2%); birth rate: 27.8/1000; infant mortality rate:
23.7/1000; life expectancy: 68.1; density per sq km: 13
Capital (2003 est.):
Belmopan, 8,700
Largest city: Belize City,
52,600
Monetary unit: Belize dollar
Languages:
English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna
(Carib), Creole
Ethnicity/race:
mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%,
Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 27%
(Pentecostal 7%, Anglican 5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Mennonite
4%, Methodist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%), none 9%, other 14%
(2000)
National Holiday:
Independence Day, September 21
Literacy rate: 94% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007
est.): $2.444 billion; per capita $7,900. Real growth rate:
2.2%. Inflation: 3%. Unemployment: 9.4% (2006).
Arable land: 3.05%. Agriculture: bananas, coca,
citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments. Labor
force: 90,000; note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of
technical personnel; agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55%
(2001 est.). Industries: garment production, food processing,
tourism, construction. Natural resources: arable land
potential, timber, fish, hydropower. Exports: $349.9 million
f.o.b. (2005 est.): sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products,
molasses, wood. Imports: $622.4 million f.o.b. (2005 est.):
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco. Major
trading partners: U.S., UK, Jamaica , Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba,
China, Japan (2004).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 33,300 (2003); mobile cellular: 60,400 (2003). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998).
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997). Internet
hosts: 2,613 (2003). Internet users: 30,000 (2002).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km.
Highways: total: 2,872 km; paved: 488 km; unpaved: 2,384 km
(1999 est.). Waterways: 825 km (navigable only by small
craft) (2004). Ports and harbors: Belize City.
Airports: 43 (2004 est.).
International disputes: 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.
Major sources and definitions
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