Country
Belize Haiti
Leader
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor Prime minister: Dean Barrow
President: Michel Martelly
Population
327,719 9,801,664
Life Expectancy
68.280 years 62.510 years
Capital City
Belmopan Port-au-Prince
Largest city
Belize City (population: 61,461) Port-au-Prince (population: 1,234,740)
Human Development Index
0.771 0.521
GDP per capita
$8,400 US $1,300 US
Literacy Rate
76.9% 52.9%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9 1.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
11.1% 5.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
13.100% 40.600%
Death Penalty
Legal Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy republic
Independence date
21 September 1981 (from UK) 1 January 1804 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Pentecostal 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%, Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%, none 9.4% (2000) Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo
Languages
Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census) French (official), Creole (official)
Exports
sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood apparel, manufactures, oils, cocoa, mangoes, coffee
External Debt
$1,079,000,000 $ $665,100,000 US
Exchange Rate
Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar - 2 (2008 est.), 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004) gourdes (HTG) per US dollar - 39.216 (2008 est.), 37.138 (2007), 40.232 (2006), 40.449 (2005), 38.352 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400% 0.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Area
22,966 km sq 27,750 km sq
Coastline
386 km 1,771 km
Climate
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds