eason (May to February)
Terrain:
flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Natural resources:
arable land potential, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
2%
forest and woodland:
44%
other:
52%
Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents,
agricultural runoff
natural hazards:
frequent devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal
flooding (especially in south)
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Climate Change
Note:
national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan
because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a
coastline on the North Pacific Ocean

@Belize, People

Population:
208,949 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.42% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
34.74 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-4.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
35.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.08 years
male:
66.14 years
female:
70.12 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.39 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Belizean(s)
adjective:
Belizean
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 44%, Creole 30%, Maya 11%, Garifuna 7%, other 8%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%,
Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's
Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980)
Languages:
English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
Literacy:
age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)
total population:
91%
male:
91%
female:
91%
Labor force:
51,500
by occupation:
agriculture 30%, services 16%, government 15.4%, commerce 11.2%,
manufacturing 10.3%
note:
shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)

@Belize, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Belize
former:
British Honduras
Digraph:
BH
Type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Belmopan
Administrative divisions:
6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
Independence:
21 Septemb