1987 Edition

Climate

tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds

Coastline

2,528 km

Comparative area

about the size of Connecticut

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Environment

subject to cyclones (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; over 80 islands

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land use

1% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 91% other

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)

Special notes

none

Terrain

mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

14,760 km?; land area: 14,760 km?

Ethnic divisions

51% black, 22% mestizo, 19% Amerindian, 8% other

90% indigenous Melanesian; 8% French; remainder Vietnamese, Chinese, and various Pacific Islanders

Infant mortality rate

56/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

51,500 (1985); 30.0% agriculture, 16.0% services, 15.4% government, 11.2% commerce, 10.3% manufacturing; shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel; over 14% are unemployed

Language

English (official), Spanish Maya, Carib

English and French (official); pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)

Life expectancy

66

55

Literacy

about 90%

probably 10-20%

Nationality

noun—Belizean(s); adiective—Belizean

noun—Vanuatuan(s); adjective—Vanuatuan

Organized labor

15% of labor force; 7 of 16 registered unions currently active

Population

168,204 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.95%

149,652 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.36%

Religion

50% Roman Catholic; Anglican, Seventh-Day Adventist, Methodist, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonite

most at least nominally Christian

Administrative divisions

6 districts

four administrative districts

Branch

unicameral legislature (39-member Parliament), elected November 1983

Branches

bicameral legislature (National Assembly—electoral redistricting in October 1984 expanded House of Representatives from 18 to 28 seats; eight-member appointed Senate; either house may choose its speaker or president, respectively, from outside its membership); Cabinet; judiciary

Capital

Belmopan

Communists

negligible

Elections

parliamentary elections held December 1984; municipal elections held December 1986 ' Political parties and leaders: United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel Esquivel, Curl Thompson, Dean Lindo, People’s United Party (PUP), George Price, Florencio Marin, Said Musa; Belize Popular Party (BPP), Louis Sylvestre

Government leader

Father Walter Hadye LINI, Prime Minister (since 1980) Political parties and leaders: National Party (Vanuaaku Pati), Walter Lini, chairman

Government leaders

Manuel A. ESQUIVEL, Prime Minister (since December 1984); Dr. Elmira Minita GORDON, Governor General (since December 1981)

Legal system

English law

unified system being created from former dual French and British systems

Member of

CARICOM, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, GATT, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, G-77, ISO, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

ADB, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, ITU, NAM, SPF, UN, WHO, WMO

Official name

Belize

Republic of Vanuatu

Other political or pressure groups

United Workers Union, which is connected with PUP

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18

Type

parliamentary; independent state; a member of the Commonwealth

republic, formerly Anglo-French condominium of New Hebrides, independent 30 July 1980 Capital; Port-Vila

Voting strength

(December 1984) National Assembly—UDP 2] seats (25,785— 54.1%), PUP 7 seats (20,971—44.0%); before redistricting, PUP held 13 seats, UDP 4 seats, and independents 1 seat

Agriculture

main products—sugarcane, citrus fruits, corn, molasses, rice, beans, bananas, livestock products, honey; net importer of food; an illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade

export crops of copra, cocoa, coffee, some livestock and fish production; subsistence crops of copra, taro, yams

Aid

US economic commitments, including Ex-lm (FY70-85), $56 million; ODA and OOF commitments from Western (nonUS) countries (1970-84), $174 million

Australia (1970-84), $43.0 million

Budget

revenues, $49 million; expenditures, $90 million (FY84/85)

Electric power

34,340 kW capacity; 71 million kWh produced, 420 kWh per capita (1986)

10,000 kW capacity; 20 million kWh produced, 150 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$90.1 million (1985 est.); sugar, garments, seafood, molasses, citrus fruits, wood and wood products

$18.1 million (1985); 24% copra, 59% frozen fish, meat

Fiscal year

} April-31 March

Fishing

catch 1,349 metric tons (1980)

catch, 2,470 metric tons (1983)

GDP

$193 million (1985), $1,190 per capita; real growth rate 1.5% (1984)

$79 million, $600 per capita (1984); GDP decline of 2.0% (1986 est.)

Imports

$128 million (1985 est.); machinery and transportation equipment, food, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

$52.3 million (1985); 18% food

Major industries

sugar refining, garments, timber and forest products, furniture, rum, soap, beverages, cigarettes

fish-freezing, canneries, tourism

Major trade partners

exports—US 36%, UK 22%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Canada 10%; imports—US 55%, UK 17%, Netherlands Antilles 8%, Mexico 7% (1983)

Monetary conversion rate

2 Belize dollars=US$1 (November 1986)

118.57 vatu=US$1; 1.55 Australian dollars=US$1 (6 February 1986)

Natural resources

arable land, timber, fish

manganese, hardwood forests, cattle

Airfields

40 total, 35 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 1,220-2,489 m

31 total, 27 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways, 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

no major transport aircraft

Highways

2,575 km total; 340 km paved, 1,190 km gravel, 735 km improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth

1,027 km total; at least 240 km sealed or all-weather roads

Inland waterways

825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable

none

Ports

2 major (Belize City, Belize City Southwest), 6 minor

3 minor (Port-Vila, Luganville, Palikoulo)

Railroads

none

none

Telecommunications

8,650 telephones (4.5 per 100 popl.), above average system based on radio-relay; 6 AM, 5 FM stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station

2 AM stations; 3,000 telephones (2.2 per 100 popl.); 1 satellite ground station

Branches

British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force, Police Department

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1986, $3.5 million; 3.3% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 37,000; 22,000 fit for military service; 1,800 reach military age (18) annually; the nucleus of the Belize Defense Force (BDF) is the former Special Force of the Belize Police, which was transferred intact to the new organization; the bulk of the early recruits were drawn from the Belize Volunteer Guard, a home guard force that had previously acted as a police reserve; the BDF currently consists of full-time soldiers known as the Regulars and an essentially reserve group, which has maintained the Volunteer Guard name; recruitment is voluntary and the terms of service vary

Personnel

no military forces maintained; however, a paramilitary force is responsible for internal and external security