]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" 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 `Y 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 `N 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 ^. `' 3.05% `( 1.39% `) 95.56% (2005) ^/ 30 sq km (2003) ^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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean 
]# ^3 294,385 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 38.9% (male 58,459/female 56,183) `, 57.5% (male 85,686/female 83,717) `- 3.5% (male 4,979/female 5,361) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 19.9 years `. 19.7 years `/ 20 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.258% (2007 est.) ^7 28.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.041 male(s)/female `, 1.024 male(s)/female `- 0.929 male(s)/female `2 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 24.38 deaths/1,000 live births `. 27.43 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 21.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 68.25 years `. 66.44 years `/ 70.16 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.52 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 2.4% (2003 est.) ^? 3,600 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Belizean(s) `4 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 `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 94.1% `. 94.1% `/ 94.1% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Belize `\ British Honduras ^H parliamentary democracy ^I `8 Belmopan `9 17 15 N, 88 46 W `: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^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 `; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993) `< Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) `= Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `> 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 - 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; 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); note - number of seats will increase to 31 next election `> House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held in 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 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] ^T 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] ^U 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 ^V `R Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN `S 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 332-9636 `U [1] (202) 332-6888 `V Los Angeles ^W `R Ambassador Robert J. DIETER `_ Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District `` 3050 Belize Place, Washington DC 20521-3050 `T [501] 822-4011 `U [501] 822-4012 ^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 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. ^Z $2.307 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $1.141 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 3.5% (2006 est.) ^] $8,400 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 22.5% `A 14.8% `B 62.6% (2006 est.) ^_ 113,000 `* shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2006 est.) ^` `@ 22.5% `A 15.2% `B 62.3% (2005 est.) ^a 9.4% (2006) _! 33.5% (2002 est.) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 4.5% (2006 est.) _V 18.2% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $302.5 million `F $357.5 million; including capital expenditures of $70 million (2006 est.) _& bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments _' garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil _( 4.6% (1999) _) 175 million kWh (2004) _* 162.8 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 2,413 bbl/day (2006) _. 3,000 bbl/day (2006 est.) _/ 1,960 bbl/day (2006) _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-173.4 million (2006 est.) _3 $359.5 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood _5 US 31%, UK 25.3%, France 4.9%, Jamaica 4% (2005) _6 $543 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco _8 US 31%, Mexico 11.6%, Russia 8.8%, Cuba 6%, Guatemala 5.6%, China 4.6%, Spain 4.5% (2005) _[ $78.96 million (2006 est.) _9 $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.) _: $NA _; Belizean dollar (BZD) _< Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002) _= 1 April - 31 March 
]& _> 33,300 (2005) _? 93,100 (2005) _@ `G above-average system `H trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay `I country code - 501; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2005) _A AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) _B 5 (2006) _C .bz _D 3,905 (2006) _E 35,000 (2005) 
]' _F 43 (2006) _G `! 5 `b 1 `c 2 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 38 `J 1 `c 11 `W 26 (2006) _H `! 2,872 km `K 488 km `L 2,384 km (1999) _b 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2005) _S `! 285 ships (1000 GRT or over) 985,464 GRT/1,322,629 DWT by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 203, chemical tanker 7, container 4, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 `X 225 (China 103, Croatia 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 3, Germany 3, Greece 2, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 2, Indonesia 2, Italy 4, Japan 2, North Korea 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 6, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Norway 2, Poland 2, Russia 36, Singapore 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 11, UAE 5, Ukraine 7, US 5) (2006) _I Belize City, Big Creek 
]( _J Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard _T 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) _K males age 18-49: 61,201 females age 18-49: 60,048 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 44,238 females age 18-49: 43,633 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 3,213 females age 18-49: 3,100 (2005 est.) _U 1.8% (2006 est.) 
]) _N 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 __ `f Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation; women and girls are trafficked mainly from Central America, and exploited in prostitution; children are trafficked to Belize for labor exploitation; Belize's largely unmonitored borders with Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico facilitate the movement of illegal migrants who are vulnerable to traffickers; girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, sometimes with the consent and complicity of their close relatives; there are unconfirmed reports that Indian and Chinese migrants are trafficked for involuntary servitude in homes and shops `g Tier 3 - Belize has failed to show evidence of significant law enforcement or victim protection efforts _O transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector 