navigable only by small craft) (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 216
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 32, cargo 152, chemical
tanker 2, container 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated
cargo 12, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 178 (Australia 1, China 71, Croatia 2, Cyprus 1,
Estonia 6, Greece 1, Iceland 2, Italy 3, Japan 8, South Korea 1,
Latvia 12, Norway 3, Peru 1, Russia 31, Singapore 2, Spain 1, Turkey
15, Ukraine 7, UAE 5, UK 5) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Belize City, Big Creek

Military
Belize

Military branches:

Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, BDF Air Wing, BDF Volunteer Guard
(2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for
conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription has
never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available
positions by 3:1 (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 74,605
females age 16-49: 72,926 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 54,627
females age 16-49: 53,500 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 3,580
female: 3,449 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.4% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Belize

Disputes - international:

OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and
Confidence Building Measures saw cooperation in repatriation of
Guatemalan squatters and other areas, but Guatemalan land and
maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea remain unresolved;
the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in
lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting
in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region;
Honduras claims Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays in its
constitution but agreed to a joint ecological park under the
Differendum

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of
cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity
related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Benin

Introduction
Benin

Background:

Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African
kingdom that rose in the 15th century. Th