Belize

Belize Belice
Flag Coat of arms of Belize Coat of arms
Motto: [Sub Umbra Floreo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)  (Latin) "Under the Shade I Flourish"
Anthem: Land of the Free Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
Capital	Belmopan
Largest city	Belize City
Official languages	English
Government	Commonwealth Realm
• Monarch	Elizabeth II
• Governor-General	Colville Young
• Prime Minister	Said Musa
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Date	September 21, 1981
• Water (%)	0.7
Population
• July 2006 estimate	291,500 (179thb)
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$2.098 billion (163rd)
• Per capita	$7,832 (77th)
HDI (2003)	0.753 high (91st)
Currency	Belizean dollar (BZD)
Time zone	UTC-6
Calling code	501
ISO 3166 code	BZ
Internet TLD	.bz
a Significant numbers of people speak Spanish and Kriol. b These ranks are based on the 2005 figures.

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, is a small nation on the eastern coast of Central America on the Caribbean Sea bordered by Mexico to the northwest and Guatemala to the west and south. The country is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy which recognises Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign. The name is shared by the Belize River, Belize's longest river, and Belize City, the former capital and largest city.

The only English-speaking country in Central America, Belize was a British colony for more than a century and was known as British Honduras until 1973. It became an independent nation in 1981. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA) and considers itself to be culturally both Caribbean and Central American.

History

Main article: History of Belize

Xunantunich, Belize

The Maya civilization spread over Belize between 1500 BC and 300 AD and flourished until about 900 AD. European settlement began with British Jews, privateers and shipwrecked English seamen as early as 1638.

The origin of the name Belize is relatively unclear, but one theory is that it derives from the Spanish pronunciation of Peter Wallace, which is the last name of the pirate who created the first settlement in Belize in 1638. Another possibility is that the name is from the Maya word belix, meaning "muddy water", applied to the Belize River.

The early "settlement of Belize in the Bay of Honduras" grew from a few habitations located at Belize Town and St George's Caye into a de-facto colony of the United Kingdom during the late eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century the settlement was called British Honduras, and in 1871 it became a Crown Colony.

Taking advantage of Spain’s inability and apparent disinterest in establishing control over present-day Belize, Englishmen began to cut logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum L.), a dyewood greatly valued in Europe as the principal dyestuff for the expanding woollen industry. By the 1770s, a second tropical exotic timber, mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King), replaced logwood as the main export from Belize. The economy of Belize remained based on the extraction of mahogany until the early 1900s when the cultivation of export crops such as citrus, sugar cane, and bananas came to dominate the economy.

Hurricane Hattie inflicted significant damage upon Belize in 1961. The government decided that a coastal capital city lying below sea level was too risky. Over several years, the British colonial government designed a new capital, Belmopan, at the exact geographic centre of the country, and in 1970 began slowly moving the governing offices there.

British Honduras became a self-governing colony in January 1964 and was renamed Belize on June 1 1973; it was the United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland. George Price led the country to full independence on 21 September, 1981 after delays caused by territorial disputes with neighbouring Guatemala, which did not formally recognize the country.

Throughout Belize's history, Guatemala has claimed ownership of all or part of the territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in maps showing Belize as Guatemala's most eastern province. As of March 2007, the border dispute with Guatemala remains unresolved and quite contentious; at various times the issue has required mediation by the United Kingdom, CARICOM heads of Government, the Organization of American States and, on one occasion, the United States. Since independence, a British garrison has been retained in Belize at the request of the Belizean Government. Notably, both Guatemala and Belize are participating in the confidence-building measures approved by the OAS, including the Guatemala-Belize Language Exchange Project.

Belize was recently the site of unrest directed at the country's ruling party, concerning tax increases in the national budget.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Belize

Belizean protests, 21 January 2005

Belize is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The current head of state is the Queen of Belize, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who is represented in the country by the Governor-General. However, the cabinet, led by a prime minister, who is head of government, acting as advisors to the Governor-General, in practice exercise executive authority. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in parliament and usually hold elected seats within it concurrent with their cabinet positions.

The bicameral Belizean parliament is the National Assembly, which comprises a House of Representatives and a Senate. The 29 members of the House are popularly elected to a maximum 5-year term and introduce legislation affecting the development of Belize. The Governor General appoints the 12 members of the Senate. The Senate is headed by a president, who is selected by its members, and is responsible for debating and approving bills passed by the House.

Belize is a full participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Belize

Belize consists of six districts:

1. Belize District- capital Belize City
2. Cayo District- capital San Ignacio
3. Corozal District- capital Corozal Town
4. Orange Walk District- capital Orange Walk Town
5. Stann Creek District- capital Dangriga
6. Toledo District- capital Punta Gorda

Geography

Map of Belize

Main article: Geography of Belize

Belize is located between the Hondo and Sarstoon Rivers, with the Belize River flowing down in the centre of the country. The north of Belize consists mostly of flat, swampy coastal plains, in places heavily forested. The flora is highly diverse considering the small geographical area. The south contains the low mountain range of the Maya Mountains, whose Victoria Peak is the highest point in Belize at 3,675 feet (1,120 m) tall. The Caribbean coast is lined with a coral reef and some 450 islets and islands known locally as cayes (pronounced "keys"), forming the approximately 200 mile (322 km) long Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the western hemisphere and the second longest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef. Three of the four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere are also located off the coast of Belize. Belize is also the only Central American country without a coast on the Pacific Ocean.

The climate is tropical and generally very hot and humid. The rainy season lasts from May to November and hurricanes and floods are frequent natural hazards.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Belize

The majority of the Belizean economy is comprised of the tourism industry. Agriculture is also a key part of the economy.

The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming greater importance. Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. Citrus production has become a major industry along the Hummingbird Highway. More recently, discoveries of petroleum deposits in the Cayo District and possible deposits in the Toledo District have radically altered Belize's previously untapped mining and manufacturing capabilities.

The ruling government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to GDP growth of 6.4% in 1999 and 10.5% in 2000. Growth decelerated in 2001 to 3% due to the global slowdown and severe hurricane damage to agriculture, fishing and tourism. Growth was in 2005 3.8%. Major concerns continue to be the rapidly expanding trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Belize

Belize has a relatively young and growing population. Its birth rate is among the highest in the world and there are indications that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

Age and gender

The greatest portion of Belize's population is under the age of 30. Nearly 40% of Belizeans are under 15; a similar number are between the ages of 15 and 65. Males slightly outnumber females, though this trend is beginning to change among certain ethnic groups, such as the Creoles and the Garifuna, where there are more middle-aged and elderly women. Maya and Mestizo families are more likely to have male-dominated households.

Birth and death rates/Life expectancy

Belize's birth rate currently stands at nearly 25/1000. Nearly 6 people die per year out of 1,000 members of the population; this figure includes murders, accidents and death from natural causes. Infant mortality, high at the beginning of the twentieth century, is now down to a mere 24 babies out of a thousand. Male babies are more likely to die, however, than females. The life expectancy of a typical male is 66 years, while for a female it is 70. HIV/AIDS, while not a serious threat to national stability, does affect enough of the population to give Belize a high rating among Caribbean and Central American nations.

Ethnic groups, nationalities

According to the latest census, the country's population is close to 300,000, and much of that number is mestizo. The Maya are the most established of all ethnic groupings, having been in Belize and the Yucatán region since the 500's AD. However, much of Belize's original Maya population was wiped out due to disease and conflicts between tribes and with Europeans. Three Maya groups now inhabit the country: Yucatecs (who came from Yucatán, Mexico to escape the Caste War), Mopans (indigenous to Belize, but were forced out by the British; they returned from Guatemala to evade slavery), and Kekchi (also fled from slavery in Guatemala).

White English and Scottish settlers entered the area in the 1630s to cut logwood for export and began settling down. The first African slaves began arriving from elsewhere in the Caribbean and Africa and began intermarrying with whites and each other, to create the Belizean Kriol people ethnic grouping. After 1800, Mestizo settlers from Mexico and Guatemala began to settle in the North; the Garifuna, a mix of African and Carib ancestry, settled in the South by way of Honduras not long after that.

The 1900s saw the arrival of Asian settlers from Mainland China, India, Taiwan, Korea, Syria, and Lebanon. Central American immigrants and expatriate Americans and Africans also began to settle in the country, presenting an interesting potage. However, this was balanced by the migration of Creoles and other ethnic groups to the United States and elsewhere for better opportunities. Estimates have generally placed the number of the Belizean diaspora, consisting mainly of Kriol and Garifuna, at a number roughly equal to the current residents of Belize.

Ethnic group mixing, and languages

Menonite Children selling peanuts near Lamanai.

Racial tension is very uncommon because of the multicultural environment of the society, and the constant admixture of the different ethnic groups. Many people simply identify as "Belizean", due to the numerous racial mixture. Because of this, the ethnic composition of the country is some times hard to determine, but self identified Mestizos comprise 50% of the population, and Creoles 25%. The rest is a mix of Maya, Garifuna, Mennonite German farmers, Central Americans, whites from America, and many other foreign groups brought to assist the country's development. Not surprisingly, this mix creates an equally interesting mix of language and communication. English is the official language due to the fact that Belize was a British colony and still has ties to Britain. However, most Belizeans use the more familiar Belize Creole, a raucous and playful English-based language that contains colourful terms that are usually translatable in English. Spanish has become important as the mother tongue of Mestizo and Central American settlers, and is a second language for much of the country. Less well known are the ancient Maya dialects, Garifuna (an Arawakan language that is also spoken in some communities in Honduras and Guatemala) and the Plautdietsch dialect of the Mennonites. Literacy currently stands at nearly 80%.

Languages in Belize according to 2000 Census

Language	mother tongue speakers	percentage	current users	percentage
Chinese	1,607	(0.8%)	1,529	(0.7%)
Creoles	67,527	(32.9%)	75,822	(37,0%)
English	7,946	(3.9%)	11,551	(5.6%)
Garifuna	6,929	(3.4%)	4,071	(2.0%)
German	6,783	(3.3%)	6.624	(3.2%)
Hindi	280	(0.1%)	193	(0.1%)
Maya Ketchi	10,142	(4.9%)	9,314	(4.5%)
Maya Mopan	6,909	(3.4%)	6,093	(3.0%)
Maya Yucateco	1,176	(0.6%)	613	(0.3%)
Spanish	94,422	(46.0%)	88,121	(43.0%)
Others / no answer	1,402	(0.7%)	1,192	(0.6%)

Religion

Belize is a predominantly Christian society. Roman Catholicism is accepted by about half of the population, and Protestantism by about a quarter. Much of the remaining population is comprised of Taoists, Buddhists and more recently introduced religions like Jainists, Islam, and Bahá'í. Hinduism is common among South Asian immigrants; Islam is also common among the Middle-eastern immigrants and has also gained a following among Creoles and Garifuna. Religious freedom is guaranteed and churches dot the streets of Belize almost as frequently as places of business; Catholics frequently visit the country for special gospel revivals.

Jehovah's Witnesses have also enjoyed significant increase in recent years and now make up around 2% of the population.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Belize

Colonization, slavery, and immigration have played major roles in affecting the ethnic composition of the population and as a result, Belize is a country of various cultures, languages, and ethnic groups. Approximately 270,000 people in Belize consist of Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Spanish, Maya, English, Mennonite, Lebanese, Chinese, and East Indian. Due to racial harmony and religious tolerance, all of these different elements have mixed and blended successfully, and Belize has gained a widespread reputation for its friendly peoples.

As a result of the country's long colonization by the British, English is the official language of Belize. Creole dialect frequently can be heard in the major cities and in the northern regions, Spanish is also widely spoken. Garifuna dialects are also heard, but it is not as predominant as the above languages.

Food, music and socialization are as diverse as the people with whom they are associated.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Belize

Getting around Belize is possible by air via two domestic airlines Maya Island Air and Tropic Air; waterways via boats, ferries and water taxis; and roads by buses on the Novelo's Bus Line, cars, motorcycles and bicycles. For maximum flexibility and getting to remote destinations off the main highways travelling by road is preferred (see Roads in Belize for an overview). There is no rail transportation available.

See also

• Communications in Belize
• Foreign relations of Belize
• Languages of Belize
• Maya ruins of Belize
• Military of Belize
• Flora and vegetation of Belize
• Plants and animals of Belize
• Ports of Belize
• The Scout Association of Belize
• University of Belize
• Culture of Belize
• Music of Belize
• Sport in Belize
• List of Belizeans

Gallery

• 
  Altun Ha archaeological site, Belize
• 
  The Swing Bridge, on Haulover Creek. Belize City
• 
  Memorial Park, Belize City

Further reading

• Belize In Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture Ian Peedle
• Belize Carlos Ledson Miller (novel)
• Belize: A Concise History P. A. B. Thomson
• Belize: Land of the Free By The Carib Sea Thor Janson
• Belize: Reefs, Rain Forests, and Mayan Ruins Dick Lutz
• Confederate Settlements in British Honduras Donald C., Jr. Simmons
• Fodor's Guide: Belize and Guatemala
• Formerly British Honduras: A Profile of a New Nation of Belize William David Stetzekorn
• Insight Guide: Belize Huw Hennessy
• Lonely Planet World Guide: Belize Carolyn Miller Caelstrom and Debra Miller
• The Making of Belize Anne Sutherland
• Moon Handbooks: Belize Chicki Mallan and Joshua Berman
• Our Man in Belize: A Memoir Richard Timothy Conroy
• The Guatemalan Claim to Belize A Handbook on the Negotiations James S. Murphy
• The Rough Guide: Belize Peter Eltringham
• Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico Ronald Wright
• Thirteen Chapters of A History of Belize Assad Shoman
• Traveller's Wildlife Guide: Belize and Northern Guatemala Les Beletsky

External links

• Government of Belize - Official governmental site
• Belize Tourism Board - Official Tourism site
• Belizean Journeys - Belize Online Magazine
• Belize.Net - Belize Specific Search Engine
• Conservation in Belize - Nature Conservancy on Belize coral reef
• Belize Web - Official website of national communications company BTL, features news links and online radio stations
• Belize - Belizean Web Community
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Belize's Country Page
• "Belize". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
• BelizeNews.NET- Comprehensive link to all of Belize News Media
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