Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor Prime minister: Dean Barrow
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II
Population
327,719
63,047,162
Life Expectancy
68.280 years
80.170 years
Capital City
Belmopan
London
Largest city
Belize City (population: 61,461)
London (population: 7,421,210)
Human Development Index
0.771
0.942
GDP per capita
$8,400 US
$36,600 US
Literacy Rate
76.9%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
7.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
11.1%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor & family ($11.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
13.100%
8.100%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
21 September 1981 (from UK)
England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar - 2 (2008 est.), 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004)
British pounds (GBP) per US dollar - 0.5302 (2008 est.), 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400%
2.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
47
Location
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Area
22,966 km sq
243,610 km sq
Coastline
386 km
12,429 km
Climate
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
