Capital: Belmopan
Population: 301,270 (July 2008 est.)
Surface area: 22,966 sq km
Currency: Belizean dollar (BZD)
GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity US $7,900 (2007 est.)
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 an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS.
Economy – Overview
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. Oil discoveries in 2006 bolstered the economic growth in 2006 and 2007. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. 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.
Major Export Commodities: sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
Remittances: US $44 million (2006)
Human Development Index 2007/2008 ranking: 80 out of 177
Official Development Assistance and Major Development Partners: Net ODA in 2006 was US $3.7 million. Major development partners include the United Kingdom, Caribbean Development Bank, and the European Community.
Total External Debt: US $1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)
United Nations membership date: 25 September 1981
New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations
675 Third Avenue, Suite 1911
New York, N.Y. 10017 USA
Telephone: 212-986-1240
Fax: 212-593-0932
Sources:
CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov
World Development Indicators. World Bank www.worldbank.org
Development, Recipient Aid Charts. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. www.oecd.org
Human Development Report 2007/2008.United Nations Development Programme. www.undp.org
Updated June 2008
