Belize
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Belize (formerly "British Honduras") is a nation in Central America bordering Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea.
Its main environmental issues include deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; and solid and sewage waste disposal.
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.
Geography
Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Geographic Coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 45 W
Area: 22,966 sq km (22,806 sq km of land, 160 sq km of water)
arable land: 3.05%
permanent crops: 1.39%
other: 95.56% (2005)
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles in the north, to 3 nautical miles in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nautical miles; 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. Also an exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles.
Natural Hazards: Frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south).
Terrain: Flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south.
Climate: Tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May).
Ecology and Biodiversity
The pine forests of Belize on Central Americas northwestern Caribbean coast represent various relatively preserved fragments of vegetation as well as a considerable abundance of fauna. They represent one of the few examples of lowland and premontane pine forests in the Neotropics, where the predominant tree species is Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis (pine, ocote), which requires periodic low intensity burns for its regeneration. The vegetation is adapted to the xeric, acidic and nutrient-poor conditions that occur primarily in the dry season. The coastal areas of the ecoregion, with vegetation that is less dense, are somewhat threatened due to selective forestry operations and the expansion of citrus fruit and banana plantations, although the situation is not urgent.
In patches throughout the Yucatán Peninsula lies the Yucatán dry forests ecoreigon. Belize is also a part of the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot.
Protected Areas
The Belize Barrier Reef platform lies on the Atlantic-Caribbean coast of Belize, and extends 260 kilometers (km) from the border with Mexico to the north, to near the Guatemalan border to the south.
International Environmental Agreements
Belize is party to international agreements on Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, and Whaling.
People and Society
Population: 307,899 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 37.9% (male 59,462/female 57,117)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 91,298/female 89,170)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 5,185/female 5,667) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.154% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 27.84 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 5.77 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 68.2 years
Total Fertility Rate: 3.36 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census)
Literacy: 76.9%
Water
Belize is very rich in surface and groundwater resources. At present, however, total water resources cannot be evaluated because the existing data are limited, in particular with respect to groundwater availability.
Economy
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 1999-2007, though growth slipped below 3% in 2008 as a result of the global slowdown. Oil discoveries in 2006 bolstered the economic growth. Exploration efforts continue though no new production is expected in 2009. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt equivalent to nearly 90% of GDP. In February 2007, the government restructured nearly all of its public external commercial debt, which will reduce interest payments and relieve liquidity concerns. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $2.577 billion (2008 est.)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $1.383 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4.8% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $8,600 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 29%
industry: 16.9%
services: 54.1% (2008 est.)
Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil
Natural Resources: arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower
Currency: Belizean dollars (BZD)
Further Reading
Return to Belize's country profile
Return to the Latin America and the Caribbean Collection