Belize

territorial sea:

• 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

exclusive economic zone:

200 nm

• tropical;
• very hot and humid;
• rainy season (May to November);
• dry season (February to May)

total:

0.15 cu km/yr (7%/73%/20%)

per capita:

556 cu m/yr (2000)

• deforestation;
• water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff;
• solid and sewage waste disposal

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.91 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

water contact disease:

leptospirosis (2009)

noun:

Belizean(s)

adjective:

Belizean

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Belize

former:

British Honduras

name:

Belmopan

geographic coordinates:

17 15 N, 88 46 W

time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993)

head of government:

Prime Minister Dean Oliver BARROW (since 8 February 2008); Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar VEGA (since 12 February 2008)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general;
• prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

• Summary Jurisdiction Courts (criminal) and District Courts (civil jurisdiction);
• Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister);
• Court of Appeal;
• Privy Council in the UK;
• member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

• National Alliance for Belizean Rights or NABR;
• National Reform Party or NRP [Cornelius DUECK];
• People's National Party or PNP [Wil MAHEIA];
• People's United Party or PUP [John BRICENO];
• United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW];
• Vision Inspired by the People or VIP [Paul MORGAN];
• We the People Reform Movement or WTP [Hipolito BAUTISTA]

• Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Nicole HAYLOCK];
• Association of Concerned Belizeans or ACB [David VASQUEZ];
• National Trade Union Congress of Belize or NTUC/B [Rene GOMEZ]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Nestor MENDEZ

chancery:

2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-9636

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-6888

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Vinai THUMMALAPALLY

embassy:

Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District

mailing address:

P.O. Box 497, Belmopan City, Cayo District, Belize

telephone:

[501] 822-4011

FAX:

[501] 822-4012

• 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 of 50 mahogany leaves;
• the colors are those of the two main political parties: blue for the PUP and red for the UDP;
• various elements of the coat of arms - the figures, the tools, the mahogany tree, and the garland of leaves - recall the logging industry that led to British settlement of Belize

note: Belize's flag is the only national flag that depicts human beings; two British overseas territories, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands, also depict humans

name:

"Land of the Free"

lyrics/music:

Samuel Alfred HAYNES/Selwyn Walford YOUNG

note: adopted 1981; as a Commonwealth country, in addition to the national anthem, "God Save the Queen" serves as the royal anthem (see United Kingdom)

agriculture:

10.2%

industry:

18.1%

services:

71.7% (2007 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar;
• fish, cultured shrimp;
• lumber

• machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods;
• fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
• food, beverages, tobacco

general assessment:

above-average system; trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity of 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 55 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 501;
• landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US;
• satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2008)

• 8 privately-owned TV stations;
• multi-channel cable TV provides access to foreign stations;
• about 25 radio stations broadcasting on roughly 50 different frequencies;
• state-run radio was privatized in 1998 (2007)

total:

3,007 km

country comparison to the world: 165

paved:

575 km

unpaved:

2,432 km (2006)

• 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 (2008)

males age 16-49:

79,088

females age 16-49:

77,147 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

57,759

females age 16-49:

55,903 (2010 est.)

male:

3,678

female:

3,543 (2010 est.)

• OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures saw cooperation in repatriation of Guatemalan squatters and other areas, but Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea remain unresolved;
• 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

current situation:

• Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• the most common form of trafficking in Belize is the internal sex trafficking of minors;
• some Central American men, women, and children, particularly from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, migrate voluntarily to Belize in search of work but are subsequently subjected to conditions of forced labor or forced prostitution

tier rating:

• Belize is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• despite efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking and provide protection services for trafficking victims, the government did not show evidence of progress in convicting and sentencing trafficking offenders last year (2009)

• transshipment point for cocaine;
• small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption;
• offshore sector money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and other crimes (2008)