_#_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