Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor Prime minister: Dean Barrow
Head of state : Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
Population
327,719
29,179,952
Life Expectancy
68.280 years
74.040 years
Capital City
Belmopan
Kuala Lumpur
Largest city
Belize City (population: 61,461)
Kuala Lumpur (population: 1,453,980)
Human Development Index
0.771
0.823
GDP per capita
$8,400 US
$15,800 US
Literacy Rate
76.9%
88.7%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
5.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
11.1%
14.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Ananda Krishnan ($7.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
13.100%
3.100%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
constitutional monarchy note: nominally headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the King) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government; powers of state governments are limited by federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls)
Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census)
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)
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Exports
sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals
External Debt
$1,079,000,000 $
$87,810,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar - 2 (2008 est.), 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004)
ringgits (MYR) per US dollar - 3.33 (2008 est.), 3.46 (2007), 3.6683 (2006), 3.8 (2005), 3.8 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400%
2.030%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Area
22,966 km sq
329,847 km sq
Coastline
386 km
4,675 km
Climate
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
