BELIZE FACT SHEET: Population (1996 est.): 222,000!!!!
Annual growth rate: About 2.6%.
Ethnic groups: Creole, Garifuna, mestizo, Amerindian.
Religions: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, other Protestant, Muslim,
Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'I.
Languages: English (official), Creole, Spanish, Garifuna, Mayan.
Education: Years compulsory - 9. Attendance - 55%. Literacy -
75%.
Health: Infant mortality rate - 35/1,000. Life expectancy - 60 yrs
Work force (65,000): Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing -33%.
Industry and commerce - 33%. Services-11.5%. Other-22.5%.
Government
Type: Parliamentary.
Independence: September 2l,1981.
Constitution: September 2l,1981.
Branches: Executive - British monarch (head of state), represented by a
governor general; prime minister (head of government, five-year term).
Legistative - bicameral National Assembly. Judicial- Supreme Court,
Court of Appeal, district magistrates.
Subdivisions: Six districts.
Political parties: People's United Party (PUP), United Democratic Party
(UDP), National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR).
Suffrage: Universal adult.
Economy
GDP (1993): $414 million.
Annual growth rate (1993): 4.3%.
Per capita income: $2,073.
Avg. inflation rate (1993): 1.7%.
PEOPLE
Belize is the most sparsely populated nation in Central America. Slightly
more than half of the people live in six urban areas, primarily along the coast.
About one-fourth live in Belize City, the former capital, commercial center,
and principal port. Population has increased dramatically in the last few
years from the inflow of Central American refugees and other immigrants
stimated at 40,000 in 1993 and mostly from Guatemala and El Salvador -
more than offsetting the heavy emigration of the Creole population to North
America.
Most Belizeans are of multiracial descent. About 30% are of African and
Afro-European (Creole) ancestry; 44% of the population is of mixed local
Indian and European descent (mestizo); about 18% is composed of
Afro-Amerindian (Garifuna), Mayan, or other Amerindian ethnic groups.
The remainder, about 8%, includes European, East Indian, Chinese, Middle
Eastern, and North American groups.
English, the official language, is spoken by virtually all except the most
recently arrived refugees. Spanish is the native tongue of about 50% of the
people and is spoken as a second language by another 20%. The various
Indian groups still speak their original languages, and an English Creole
dialect, similar to the Creole dialects of the English speaking Caribbean
islands, is spoken by most. The rate of functional literacy is about 75%.
About 60% of the population are Roman Catholic; the Anglican Church and
Protestant Christian groups account for most of the remaining 40%.
Mennonite settlers number about 7,400.
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Belize is a parliamentary democracy on the Westminster model and is a
member of the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state and is
represented in the country by Governor General Dr. Colville N. Young, Sr.,
a Belizean and Belize's second governor general. The primary executive
organ of government is the cabinet, led by a prime minister (head of
government). Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in
Parliament and usually hold elected seats in the National Assembly
concurrently with their cabinet positions.
The National Assembly consists of a House of Representatives and a
Senate. The 29 members of the House are popularly elected to a maximum
five year term. Of the Senate's eight members, five are elected by the prime
minister, two by the leader of the opposition, and one by the governor
general.
Currently, the Belize Government is controlled by a coalition of the United
Democratic Party (UDP) and the National Alliance for Belizean Rights
(NABR), which won 16 of the 29 seats in the House of Representatives on
June 30,1993. The People's United Party (PUP) won the other 13 seats.
The PUP had governed Belize from September 1989 until June 1993, and
the UDP from December 1984 until September 1989. Before 1984, the
PUP had dominated the electoral scene for over 30 years.
Members of the independent judiciary are appointed. The judicial system
includes local magistrates, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal.
Cases may, under certain circumstances, be appealed to the Privy Council in
London. The country is divided into six districts: Corozal, Orange Walk,
Cayo, Belize, Stann Creek, and Toledo.
National Security
Principal Government Officials
Head of State - Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General - Dr. Colville N. Young, Sr.
Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Defense - Manuel E. Esquivel
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economic
Development, and Attorney General - Dean 0. Barrow
Ambassador to the United States and the OAS - Dean Lindo
Ambassador to the United Nations - Edward Laing
Belize maintains an embassy in the United States at 2535 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
(tel.: 202-332-9636; fax: 202-332-6888).
Infrastructure
Economic growth in Belize is constrained by a lack of infrastructure. Electric
service is expensive and unavailable in some rural areas. No roads exist to
large tracts of potentially arable land and timber. Some roads, including
sections of major highways, are subject to damage or closure during the
rainy season. Inadequate roads and ports limit external marketing, although
expansion of port handling facilities has been undertaken in Belize City, and
a new deep-water port has been completed in Big Creek to complement.
U.S.-BELIZEAN RELATIONS
The United States and Belize traditionally have had close and cordial
relations since they were established in the 1930s. The United States is
Belize's principal trading partner and major source of investment funds and is
also home to the largest Belizean community outside Belize. An estimated
35,000 Belizeans live in the United States. The Peace Corps has 55
volunteers in the country. American investment and tourism are growing
rapidly. Excellent air and shipping links to the United States facilitate trade
and travel.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador - George C. Bruno
Deputy Chief of Mission - Frank Parker
Economic/Commercial Officer - Valerie Belon
Consul - Ann Gordon
Administrative/Security Officer - Jesse I. Coronado |
