importance. Agriculture accounts for about 20% of GDP and provides 75%
of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost
40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner,
is assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an
agricultural diversification program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $649 million (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,960 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 27%
services : 53% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 6.4% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total : 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)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $140 million
expenditures: $180 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(FY96/97 est.)

Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (1990)

Electricity - capacity: 34,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: bananas, coca, citrus, sugarcane; lumber;
fish, cultured shrimp

Exports:
total value: $204 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: sugar, citrus fruits, bananas, clothing, fish products,
molasses, wood
partners : US 38%, UK, other EU (1994)

Imports:
total value: $264 million (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, food,
manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
partners : US 53%, UK, other EU, Mexico (1994)

Debt - external: $192 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient : ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Belizean dollar (Bz$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1 - 2.00 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

@Belize:Communications

Telephones: 29,000 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay
international : satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 8, shortwave 1

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 27,048 (1993 est.)

@Belize:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,770 km
paved: 521 km
unpaved : 2,249 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 825 km