Belize
Capital: Belmopan
History
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 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Guatemala and Belize plan to hold a simultaneous referendum, set for 6 October 2013, to determine if this dispute will go before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include the country's heavy foreign debt burden, high unemployment, growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade, high crime rates, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Central America.
Geography
Metric Units
Economy
Budget & Debt
Trade
| Exports |
$555.8 million |
| Export Items |
sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood, crude oil |
| Export Partners |
US 38.1%, UK 16.5%, Costa Rica 10%, Nigeria 4.4% (2011) |
| Imports |
$770.1 million |
| Import Items |
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods |
| Import Partners |
US 38.2%, Mexico 10.2%, Cuba 9.2%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 5%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.1% (2011) |
People
| Population |
334,297 |
| Population Growth |
1.97% |
| Ethnic Groups |
mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% (2000 census) |
| Religion |
Roman Catholic 39.3%, Pentacostal 8.3%, Seventh Day Adventist 5.3%, Anglican 4.5%, Mennonite 3.7%, Baptist 3.5%, Methodist 2.8%, Nazarene 2.8%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.6%, other 9.9% (includes Bahai Faith, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Mormon), other (unkn |
| Life Expectancy |
68.4 years |
| Infant Mortality |
1.03 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality |
2.7 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
