Belize
- Capital Belmopan (17°15´N 88°46´W)
- International airport(s) Philip S. W. Goldson Airport
- Official language(s) English
- Currency Belize dollar
- Time UTC -6
- Region Caribbean
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
Belize is located on the northeast, Caribbean coast of Central America. It borders Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south, making it the only Central American country without a Pacific coastline. While the northern and southern borders are largely defined by the courses of two rivers, the Hondo and the Sarstoon River, respectively, the western border follows no natural features and runs in a relatively straight line north-to-south through highland plateaus and the country's predominant lowlands (swampy at the coast and covered in forest inland). A total land border of 516 km is contrasted by the 386 km coastline to the east in the Caribbean Sea. The coast is flanked by the second-longest barrier reef in the world. The Belize Barrier Reef consists of a 300 km long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System with a total length of 900 km. Belize has 1 060 islands and many lagoons along the coast.
Having a tropical climate, Belize experiences pronounced wet and dry seasons. Temperatures in Belize are affected by elevation, proximity to the coast and the effects of trade winds from the Caribbean. Average temperatures range from 23 °C in January to 27 °C in June -—
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—-, with the interior having somewhat higher and highlands somewhat lower temperatures. Seasons are mostly determined by the amount of rainfall. The wet season in Belize occurs during the months of May to October and the dry season from November to April. During the wet season, Belize usually receives mean monthly rainfall of 150-400 mm in the south of the country; in the rest of the country precipitation is limited with less than 100 mm of rainfall per month -—
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Hurricanes have major effects on the climate of Belize, often devastating ones. The city of Belmopan was built in 1970 to become the new capital, since Belize City was so often devastated by hurricanes. Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, following Belize City and San Ignacio.
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—-, with the interior having somewhat higher and highlands somewhat lower temperatures. Seasons are mostly determined by the amount of rainfall. The wet season in Belize occurs during the months of May to October and the dry season from November to April. During the wet season, Belize usually receives mean monthly rainfall of 150-400 mm in the south of the country; in the rest of the country precipitation is limited with less than 100 mm of rainfall per month -—
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Hurricanes have major effects on the climate of Belize, often devastating ones. The city of Belmopan was built in 1970 to become the new capital, since Belize City was so often devastated by hurricanes. Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, following Belize City and San Ignacio.
Belize’s economy has traditionally been based primarily on agriculture. Key export crops include citrus, sugar, banana, and marine products such as shrimp -—
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—-. According to the FAO -—
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—-, less than 4 per cent of the territory is classified as arable land. The share of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing in total value added has fallen to just below 11 per cent in 2019, whereas services now account for three quarters -—
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—-. Agriculture accounts for about 17 per cent of employment in the country; roughly 24 per cent for men. Over 85 per cent of women and 55 per cent of men are employed in service sector -—
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Tourism has been gaining importance in the economy of Belize since the early 2000s: inbound tourism expenditure as a per cent of GPD was over 27 per cent in 2019 and the number of inbound tourists reached almost 1.7 million by 2018 -—
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—-. Belize’s main export partners are the United States of America and the United Kingdom, jointly dominating the trade accounting for around 60 per cent of Belize’s total exports. Jamaica, Ireland and Spain are also important export partners. -—
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—-. According to the FAO -—
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—-, less than 4 per cent of the territory is classified as arable land. The share of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing in total value added has fallen to just below 11 per cent in 2019, whereas services now account for three quarters -—
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—-. Agriculture accounts for about 17 per cent of employment in the country; roughly 24 per cent for men. Over 85 per cent of women and 55 per cent of men are employed in service sector -—
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Tourism has been gaining importance in the economy of Belize since the early 2000s: inbound tourism expenditure as a per cent of GPD was over 27 per cent in 2019 and the number of inbound tourists reached almost 1.7 million by 2018 -—
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—-. Belize’s main export partners are the United States of America and the United Kingdom, jointly dominating the trade accounting for around 60 per cent of Belize’s total exports. Jamaica, Ireland and Spain are also important export partners. -—
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Belize’s culture is an amalgamation of various ethnicities in the country, ranging from Central American to Afro-Caribbean, with a blend of Indian and Chinese communities. This is most pronounced in cuisine, but also in music and national folklore, the latter reflecting various legends.
Local food is diverse and influenced by the history of the country. Belizean cuisine offers spicy Creole dishes, corned beef and fried paca, which is a small jungle rodent. Beans and rice are a staple for most meals, and they commonly include coconut milk, hot peppers and plantains. Underground roasted pig is one of the delicious dishes still prepared, especially in the countryside.
Local food is diverse and influenced by the history of the country. Belizean cuisine offers spicy Creole dishes, corned beef and fried paca, which is a small jungle rodent. Beans and rice are a staple for most meals, and they commonly include coconut milk, hot peppers and plantains. Underground roasted pig is one of the delicious dishes still prepared, especially in the countryside.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline
lengthkm
lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest
neighbourkm
neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita
2019
US$
Productive Capacity Index
2018
Economic and environmental vulnerability index
2019
Consumer Price Index growth
2019
%
Unemployment
rate
Female %, Male %
rate
Total %
Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019
Percentage of GDP
Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources
Percentage of GDP
Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP
2018
%
Fleet size
Number of ships
Number of ships
Ship type | 2011 | 2019 |
---|---|---|
Total fleet | 1 407 | 1 407 |
Oil tankers | 264 | 266 |
Bulk carriers | 311 | 333 |
General cargo | 161 | 77 |
Container ships | 52 | 49 |
Other types of ships | 619 | 682 |
Port performance
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators | 2019 | SIDS Ranking |
---|---|---|
Number of port calls | 570 | 20 |
Median time in port (days) | 0.5 | 28 |
Average age of vessels | 13 | 28 |
Average size (GT) of vessels | 70 933 | 1 |
Container port throuput
2019
TEU
Bilateral connectivity index, 2019
Top 5 partners
Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
Indicators | Period | Value | |
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Poverty headcount (% of population) | .. | .. | |
Human development index | 2018 | 0.7 | |
Human assets index | 2020 | 86 | |
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %) | .. | .. | |
Gender inequality index | 2019 | 0.4 |
Life expectancy at birth
years
Population density
2019
persons per km2Dependency
ratio
Old-age:
ratio
2019
Child:Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019
Percentage of total population
Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade
US dollars in millions
US dollars in millions
Indicators | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2019 (% of GDP) | ||||||
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Merchandise exports | 319 | 478 | 538 | 462 | 24.6 | ||||||
Merchandise imports | 593 | 706 | 991 | 986 | 52.5 | ||||||
Services exports | 307 | 354 | 496 | 686 | 36.5 | ||||||
Services imports | 159 | 162 | 221 | 295 | 15.7 |
Trade openness
Goods and services
Goods and services
% of GDP
Export concentration index
2019
Food import
dependency
Average 2015-2019
dependency
Average 2015-2019
Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019
Exports in millions US dollars
Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita
Kg per capita
Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017
Percentage of total energy consumption
Percentage of total energy consumption
Material
footprint
per capita
footprint
per capita
2016
kg
Terrestrial
protected
area
protected
area
2018
%
Marine
protected
area
protected
area
2018
%
Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods
Imports: %
Exports: %
Imports: %
Trade in ICT services
Imports: %
Exports: %
Imports: %
Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Sources
Source of data: -—
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—- except indicators listed below.
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—- except indicators listed below.
- Adult literacy rate: -—
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—- - Arable land: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS - CO2 emissions per capita: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC - CO2 emissions per GDP: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KD.GD - Distance to nearest neighbour: -—
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—- https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/cshapes/index.html - Economic losses due to disasters: -—
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—- https://www.sdg.org/datasets/e3adb2406c2e452b81c3654e276fc5ca_0 - Exclusive economic zone: -—
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—- http://www.seaaroundus.org/ - Fixed broadband/mobile subscriptions: -—
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—-. World telecommunication/ICT indicators database. Available at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx (accessed 28 May 2020). - Forest area: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS - Gender inequality index: -—
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—-. Gender inequality index (GII), http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii - Human assets index: -—
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—- http://data.uis.unesco.org/ - Human development index: -—
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—- http://hdr.undp.org/en/data# - Life expectancy at birth: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN - Marine protected area: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS - Material footprint: -—
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—- https://environmentlive.unep.org/indicator/index/12_2_1 - Number of people affected by disasters: -—
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—- https://www.sdg.org/datasets/1beb260e9ca14674b391b815e4874990_0 - ODA: -—
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—- https://stats.oecd.org - Percentage of population in low elevated coastal zones: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.POP.EL5M.ZS - Poverty headcount ratio: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY - Renewable energy share in total energy consumption: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KD.GD - Share of internet users: -—
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—-. World telecommunication/ICT indicators database. Available at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx (accessed 28 May 2020). - Terrestrial protected area: -—
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—- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.LND.PTLD.ZS - Tourism: -—
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—- Compendium of Tourism Statistics dataset [Electronic], UNWTO, Madrid, data updated on 21/09/2020. - Unemployment rate, total/female/male: -—
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—- https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer2/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=SDG_0852_SEX_AGE_RT_A - World risk index: -—
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—-: https://weltrisikobericht.de/download/1386/
References
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Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
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