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Background: 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 high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increasing urban crime.
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Common Name: Belize
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Local Official Name: Belize
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Abbreviated Name: Belize
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Official Name: Belize
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Official Script Name: Belize
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Local Common Name: Belize
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Former Name: British Honduras
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Territory of: NA
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Head of State: Queen ELIZABETH II
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Government Type: parliamentary democracy
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Independence: 1981 September 21 (from UK)
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Constitution: 1981 September 21
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National Holiday: Independence Day, 21 September
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International Organization Participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Administrative Divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
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Dependent Areas: NA
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Legal System: English law
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Suffrage: 18 years
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Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches: Executive Branch:
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 Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Legislative Branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held March 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)
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Party Leaders: People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman]
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International Disputes: Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS seeks to revive the 2002 failed Belize-Guatemala Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK financial package
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Illicit Drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector
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Location of Belize: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
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Continent: South America
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Land Area Total: 22,966 sq km
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Region: Central America |
Land Area Land: 22,806 sq km
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Capitol City: Belmopan
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Land Area Water: 160 sq km
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Current: -6
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Latitude: 017 15 N
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Border Boundary Land: 516 km
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Longitude: 088 45 W
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Border Boundary Coastline: 386 km
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Arable Land: 3.05 %
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Pastures: 0.00 %
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Crops: 1.39 %
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Woodlands and Forests: 0.00
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Highest Elevation: 1,160 m
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Location: Victoria Peak
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Lowest Elevation: 0 m
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Location: Caribbean Sea
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Largest City in Belize: Belize City
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Belize City Largest City Population: 58,000
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Threatened Species: 59
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Environmental Issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal
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Environmental Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Irrigated Land: 30
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Bordering Countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
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Natural Resources: arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower
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Geographical Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
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Comparative Area of Belize: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
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Belize's Geography: only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
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Click Here for detailed information about the weather conditions in Belize.
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General Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
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Natural Hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
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Economic Overview: In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by 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 5% in 1999-2005. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.
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GDP: $1,778,000,000 USD
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Currency: Belizean dollar
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GDP per Capita: $6,800 USD
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Currency Code: BZD
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GDP Growth Rate: 3.80 %
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One $USD Equals: %fincurrencyequals% BZD
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Currency Exchange Rate History: Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001)
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GDP of Agriculture: 14.20 %
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GDP of Industry: 15.80 %
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GDP of Services: 61.20 % |
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Inflation Rate: 3.00 % |
Population in Poverty: 33.00 %
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Unemployment Rate: 12.90 %
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Tourism: 0.00 visitors each year
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Consumption by lowest 10%: 0.00 %
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Budget Revenue in USD: $262,000,000 USD
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Consumption by upper 10%: 0.00 %
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Budget Expenditures in USD: $329,000,000 USD
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Electricity Production: 12,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Exports: 0 kWh
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Electricity Consumption: 111,600,000 kWh
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Electricity Imports: 0 kWh
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Electricity Production by Source:
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Fossil Fuel Electricity Production: 58.33%
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Nuclear Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Hydro Electricity Production: 41.67%
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Other Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Oil Production: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m
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Oil Consumption: 6,000 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m
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Oil Exports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m
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Oil Imports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Imports: 0 cu m
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Proven Oil Reserves: 0 barrels
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Proven Natural Gas Reserves: 0 cu m
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External Debt: $1,362,000,000 USD |
Received in economic aid: $0 USD
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Donated in economic aid: $0 USD
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Agricultural Products: bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments
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Primary Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism, construction
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Industrial Growth Rate: 4.60 %
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Import Amount in USD: $6,224,000,000 USD - machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco
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Import Partners: US 31%, Mexico 11.6%, Russia 8.8%, Cuba 6%, Guatemala 5.6%, China 4.6%, Spain 4.4%
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Export Amount in USD: $349,900,000 USD - sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
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Export Partners: US 30.6%, UK 25%, France 4.8%
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GINI Index: 0.00%
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Labor Force Number of People: 90,000
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Labor Force by Occupations: agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55%
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Radio Broadcast Stations: 13 |
Number of People with Radios: 133,000 |
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Television Broadcast Stations: 2 |
Number of People with Televisions: 41,000 |
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Number of People with Mainline Telephones: 33,300 |
Number of People with Mobile Phones: 93,100 |
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Internet Service Providers: 3,905 |
Internet Users: 3,500 |
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Internet Country Code: .bz |
Newspapers: 0 |
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Two Letter Country Code: BH |
Weights and Measures: |
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Phone Country Code: 501 |
Electricity Voltage: 110/220 Volts |
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Telephone Systems: general assessment: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay
international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6)
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Highways: 488 km |
Railways: 0 km
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Gas And Oil Pipelines: 0 km |
Waterways: 825 km
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Airports: 5 |
Heliports: 0
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Motor Vehicles: 25 per 1,000 people |
CO2 Emissions: 388,000 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Per capita CO2 emissions: 1.70 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Merchant Marines: total: 285 ships (1000 GRT or over) 985,464 GRT/1,322,629 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 203, chemical tanker 7, container 4, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 225 (China 103, Croatia 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 3, Germany 3, Greece 2, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 2, Indonesia 2, Italy 4, Japan 2, North Korea 2, South Korea 4, Latvia 6, Lithuania 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Norway 2, Poland 2, Russia 36, Singapore 6, Spain 3, Switzerland 1, Turkey 11, UAE 5, Ukraine 7, US 5)
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Ports and Harbors: Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda
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Population: 287,730 people type - nationality |
Birth Rate: 28.84 births per 1,000 people |
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Population Density: 11.00 people per sq km |
Death Rate: 5.72 deaths per 1,000 people |
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Population Growth: 2.31% per year |
Fertility Rate per Women: 3.60 babies born per woman |
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Population Male 0-14: 57,923 |
Population Female 0-14: 55,678 |
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Population Male 15-64: 82,960 |
Population Female 15-64: 81,046 |
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Population Male 65+: 4,888 |
Population Female 65+: 5,235 |
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Population 0-14: 39.50% |
Literacy Rate: 94.10% |
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Population 15-64: 57.00% |
Literacy rate of Males: 94.10% |
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Population 65+: 3.50% |
Literacy rate of Females: 94.10% |
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Population that is Male: 52.50
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Population that is Female: 47.50% |
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Life expectancy at birth in years: 68.30 years |
Infant mortality rate - baby deaths per 1000 births: 24.89 Babies die per 1,000 births |
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Life expectancy at birth for Males: 66.43 years |
Life expectancy at birth for Females: 70.26 years |
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Rate of AIDS/HIV infection: 2.40%
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Number of people living with AIDS or HIV: 3,600
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Number of people who died of AIDS: 0 |
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Disease Risk:
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Diseases:
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Net Migration Rate per 1,000 people: 0.00
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Nationality: BELIZEAN
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Ethnic Groups: mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%
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Primary Language: English
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Other Languages: English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole
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Primary Religion: Roman Catholic
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Other Religions: Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4%
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Branches: Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard
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Manpower Fit to Serve: 18 years
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Manpower Available: 121,249 People
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Manpower Fit to Serve: 87,871 People
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Amount of Manpower Available each Year: 6,313 People per year
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Expenditures: $0 USD per year
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Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 1.70
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Note: Phrasebase uses a variety of sources when compiling the facts and information presented above. This information is continually updated throughout the year.
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