BBC News - Belize country profile

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height="11" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="3"> Printable version </a></td> </tr></table></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table class="storycontent" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <div class="mxb"> <h1> Belize country profile </h1> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="storybody"> <p>  <a name="overview"></a>  </p>  <table border="0" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="226" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td> <div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/45837000/gif/_45837356_belize226.gif" width="226" height="170" alt="Map of Belize" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"> </div> </td></tr> </table>   <div class="guidecontainer" id="quickguide"> <div class="guidemain">   <h3 class="current" id="topic"></h3>   <div class="content" id="content"> <p><b>Formerly known as British Honduras, Belize was the UK's last colony on the American mainland and still maintains strong ties with Britain.</b></p><p> It did not attain independence until 1981, when it became a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as its head of state. English is still the official language, although Spanish is the most commonly spoken first language.</p> </div>   </div> </div> <div class="clear"></div> <h2 class="country_profile">Overview</h2> <ul class="country_profile"> <li>Overview</li> <li><a href="#facts">Facts</a></li> <li><a href="#leaders">Leaders</a></li> <li class="country_profile_last"><a href="#media">Media</a></li> </ul> <p>Although Belize is distinguished from its neighbours in being the only country in the region with a British colonial heritage, it also has strong ties to Latin America as well as to the Caribbean.</p>  <table cellspacing="0" align="right" width="231" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="5" height="1" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="sih"> GARIFUNA </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47110000/jpg/_47110127_palacio_afp.jpg" width="226" height="282" alt="Andy Palacio" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"> </div> <div class="mva">Andy Palacio, who died in 2008, spearheaded a revival of Central America's Garifuna culture</div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" width="226" height="1" alt="" border="0" vspace="2" hspace="0"><br /> </div> <div class="miiib">  <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2008/01/080123_palacio_obit.shtml">Obituary</a> </div>  </div> </td> </tr> </table>  <p> Its society is extremely diverse, and comprises many cultures and languages. The biggest single ethnic group is the Mestizos, who are of mixed Maya Indian and Spanish ancestry. There are also Creoles, who speak a Creole dialect of English and are often of African and African-European extraction, and Garifuna, who are descended from Carib Indians and Africans, as well as a number of smaller ethnic groups. </p><p>The number of Mestizos increased significantly during the 1980s as a result of conflicts in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which triggered an influx of Mestizo refugees into Belize. </p><p>Belize's independence was delayed by a long-running border dispute with Guatemala, which refused to recognise its neighbour's independence until 1992. The two countries have yet to settle the territorial issue, which has its roots in the colonial era. </p><p>In addition to its strong ties with Britain and the United States, Belize has recently also forged closer links with Latin American countries such as Mexico and Venezuela. </p><p>In common with many Caribbean economies, the service sector has overtaken agriculture, fishing and forestry. </p><p>Tourism is a major source of foreign currency. Belize's attractions include wildlife, Mayan ruins and one of the longest barrier reefs in the world. More than 200 islands nestle inside the reef. </p><p>Cruise ship arrivals have seen a massive increase in recent years. But tourism has its price; among the challenges facing Belize is the threat to the habitats of its mammals and birds. </p><p>Also, Belize has a problem with violent crime, much of it drug-related, and the trafficking of narcotics to the US. In 2011 Belize was added to a US blacklist of countries considered to be major producers or transit routes for illegal drugs. </p><p>  <a name="facts"></a>  <h2 class="country_profile">Facts</h2> <ul class="country_profile"> <li><a href="#overview">Overview</a></li> <li>Facts</li> <li><a href="#leaders">Leaders</a></li> <li class="country_profile_last"><a href="#media">Media</a></li> </ul> </p><p></p> <div class="guidecontainer" id="quickguide"> <div class="guidemain">   <h3 class="current" id="topic"></h3>   <div class="content" id="content"> <ul class="bulletList" ><li><b>Full name:</b> Belize </li><li><b>Population: </b> 318,000 (UN, 2011) </li><li><b><b>Capital:</b></b> Belmopan </li><li><b>Area: </b>22,965 sq km (8,867 sq miles) </li><li><b>Major languages: </b>English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole </li><li><b>Major religion: </b>Christianity </li><li><b>Life expectancy: </b> 75 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN) </li><li><b>Monetary unit:</b> 1 Belizean dollar = 100 cents </li><li><b>Main exports:</b> Sugar, bananas, citrus fruits, oil, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood </li><li><b>GNI per capita: </b> US$3,810 (World Bank, 2010) </li><li><b>Internet domain: </b> .bz </li><li><b>International dialling code: </b>+501</li></ul> </div>   </div> </div> <div class="clear"></div> <p>  <a name="leaders"></a>  <h2 class="country_profile">Leaders</h2> <ul class="country_profile"> <li><a href="#overview">Overview</a></li> <li><a href="#facts">Facts</a></li> <li>Leaders</li> <li class="country_profile_last"><a href="#media">Media</a></li> </ul></p><p><b>Head of state: </b>Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor </p><p><b>Prime minister:</b> Dean Barrow </p><p></p>  <table border="0" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="226" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td> <div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/47110000/jpg/_47110166_barrow_afp.jpg" width="226" height="170" alt="Dean Barrow" border="0" vspace="0" hspace="0"> <div class="cap">PM Dean Barrow was elected on an anti-corruption platform</div> </div> </td></tr> </table>  <p>Dean Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP) won the general election in February 2008 and again in March 2012. </p><p>Mr Barrow is Belize's first black prime minister. A leading lawyer, he was elected to parliament in 1984 and served in senior positions in UDP governments until the PUP won a landslide in 1998. He then led the party in opposition until its victory at the polls in 2008. </p><p>In the 2008 vote he unseated the People's United Party (PUP) government of Said Musa, which had been in power for 10 years. </p><p>The PUP was the driving force behind independence and won 10 of the 12 elections since Belize first elected a legislative assembly under British rule in 1954. In the last years of Mr Musa's government the PUP had been rocked by allegations of corruption. </p><p>  <a name="media"></a>  <h2 class="country_profile">Media</h2> <ul class="country_profile"> <li><a href="#overview">Overview</a></li> <li><a href="#facts">Facts</a></li> <li><a href="#leaders">Leaders</a></li> <li class="country_profile_last">Media</li> </ul> </p><p>Belize has no daily newspapers; some weeklies are subsidised by political parties. </p><p>Radio listeners rely on a range of commercial outlets, most of them networked nationwide. </p><p>Privately-owned TV stations are on the air and cable TV is available in the towns. </p><p>The constitution guarantees media freedom, but provides exceptions in the interest of national security, public order and morality. </p><p>There were 60,000 internet users by September 2009 (Internetworldstats). </p><p><b>The press </b><br/></p><ul class="bulletList" ><li><a href="http://www.amandala.com.bz/" >Amandala</a> - weekly </li><li><a href="http://www.belizetimes.bz/" >The Belize Times</a> - weekly, mouthpiece of People's United Party </li><li><a href="http://www.reporter.bz/" >The Reporter</a> - weekly </li><li><a href="http://www.sanpedrosun.net/" >The San Pedro Sun</a> - weekly, published on island of Ambergris Caye </li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.bz/" >The Guardian</a> - United Democratic Party-affiliated </li></ul><p><b>Television</b><br/></p><ul class="bulletList" ><li><a href="http://www.channel5belize.com/" >Channel 5</a> - commercial </li><li><a href="http://www.7newsbelize.com/" >Channel 7</a> - commercial </li></ul><p><b>Radio</b><br/></p><ul class="bulletList" ><li><a href="http://www.lovefm.com/" >Love FM</a> - commercial, music and news </li><li><a href="http://www.estereoamor.bz/" >Estereo Amor</a> - private, Spanish-language </li><li><a href="http://www.krembz.com/" >Krem FM</a> - private, commercial </li><li><a href="http://105.9fm.bz/" >Wave Radio</a> - affiliated to United Democratic Party 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type="text/javascript">BBC.adverts.show("storyprintsponsorship");</script> <div id="bbccom_adsense_middle" class="bbccom_adsense bbccom_display_none"> <script type="text/javascript">bbc_adsense_slot = "adsense_middle";"sg" == "us" ? bbc_adsense_country = "sg" : bbc_adsense_country = "rest";</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/app/bbccom/1.52.0/adsense_write.js"></script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">BBC.adverts.show("adsense_middle");</script> </td> <td class="storyextra"> <div id="bbccom_mpu" class="bbccom_display_none"> <script type="text/javascript">BBC.adverts.write("mpu");</script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">BBC.adverts.show("mpu");</script> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt=""><br /> <div class="puffbox"> <div class="o"><a href="/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1210772.stm"><img height="49" hspace="0" align="left" vspace="0" border="0" width="66" alt="Flag of Belize" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39628000/gif/_39628529_belize_fla6649.gif" /><img height="66" hspace="0" align="left" vspace="0" border="0" width="5" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" /><b>Timeline: Belize</b><br /> A chronology of key events</a><br clear="all" /> <img height="2" vspace="6" border="0" width="203" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/336699.gif" /></div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt=""><br /> <div class="o"> <div class="nlp"> <a class="lp" href="/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm">COUNTRY PROFILES</a> </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="nlp"> A GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><form method="post" action="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/openurl.pl"><tr><td> <select name="link" class="formatStyle" onchange="if (this.options[selectedIndex].value != '') location.href=this.options[selectedIndex].value"> <option value="#"> Choose a country </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18706079"> Antigua/Barbuda </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18707514"> Argentina </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18722984"> Bahamas </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18723928"> Barbados </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18724590"> Belize </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18727507"> Bolivia </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18909529"> Brazil </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19357497"> Chile </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19390026"> Colombia </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19414068"> Costa Rica </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16841111"> Canada </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19583447"> Cuba </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19246342"> Dominica </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19246340"> Dominican Republ </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19331501"> Ecuador </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19401932"> El Salvador </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19598301"> Grenada </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19635877"> Guatemala </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19546909"> Guyana </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19548810"> Haiti </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18954311"> Honduras </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18784061"> Jamaica </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18095241"> Mexico </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19735631"> Nicaragua </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19888936"> Panama </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19978115"> Paraguay </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19928905"> Peru </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19997673"> Suriname </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20032548"> St Kitts and Nev </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19833213"> St Lucia </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20006734"> St Vincent/Grena </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20072231"> Trinidad/Tobago </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16761057"> USA </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20041847"> Uruguay </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19649648"> Venezuela </option> </select> <input value="GO" type="image" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/go_button.gif"> </td></tr></form></table> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><form method="post" action="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/openurl.pl"><tr><td> <select name="link" class="formatStyle" onchange="if (this.options[selectedIndex].value != '') location.href=this.options[selectedIndex].value"> <option value="#"> Find a territory </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20142904"> Anguilla </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20145233"> Aruba </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20158216"> Bermuda </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20211990"> Brit Virgin Isla </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20219637"> Cayman Islands </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20413910"> Curacao </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18425572"> Falkland Islands </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18249474"> Greenland </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20376142"> French Guiana </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20313500"> Guadeloupe </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20259685"> Martinique </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20256517"> Montserrat </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17139243"> Puerto Rico </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17142538"> St Pierre and Mi </option> <option value="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20252929"> Turks and Caicos </option> </select> <input value="GO" type="image" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/go_button.gif"> </td></tr></form></table> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="5" alt="" border="0" vspace="0" class="" hspace="0"><br /> <div class="nlp"> Compiled by BBC Monitoring </div> </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt=""><br /></div> <div class="seeAlsoH"> SEE ALSO </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14941749">US blacklists Belize and Salvador</a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 16 Sep 11 |  Latin America & Caribbean </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5158504.stm">A people dependent on coral</a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 08 Jul 06 |  From Our Own Correspondent </span> </div> <img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="1" height="10" alt=""><br /> <div class="nlp"> RELATED BBC LINKS </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/news/"> BBC Mundo.com </a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean"> BBC Caribbean.com </a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/onlocation/belize.shtml"> BBC Radio 3: World Routes in Belize </a> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/hi/country_guides/newsid_9383000/9383709.stm"> BBC Weather: Belize </a> </div> <img 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