ico 250 km

Coastline:
386 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from
the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's
territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with
Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry
season (February to May)

Terrain:
flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m

Natural resources:
arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 2.85%
permanent crops: 1.71%
other: 95.44% (2001)

Irrigated land:
30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal
flooding (especially in south)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents,
agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
only country in Central America without a coastline on the North
Pacific Ocean

People Belize

Population:
279,457 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.1% (male 57,114/female 54,877)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 79,694/female 77,881)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,768/female 5,123) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.35 years
male: 19.21 years
female: 19.49 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.33% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:
29.34 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:
6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.97 deaths/1,000 live bir