Country
Belize Vietnam
Leader
Population
334,297 92,477,857
Life Expectancy
68.400 years 72.650 years
Capital City
Belmopan Hanoi
Largest city
Belize City (population: 61,461) Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Human Development Index
0.771 0.718 GDP per capita $8,400 US $3,500 US
Literacy Rate
76.9% 90.3%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9 2.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
11.1% 25.8% Wealthiest Citizens Unemployment Rate 11.300% 4.500%
Death Penalty
Legal Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy Communist state
Independence date
21 September 1981 (from UK) 2 September 1945 (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) Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 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) Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) Exports sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes External Debt $1,457,000,000 $ $41,850,000,000 US Exchange Rate Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar - 2 (2008 est.), 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004) dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,548.3 (2008 est.), 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004) Military Budget as percentage of GDP 1.200% 2.500% Beijing Olympics Medal Count 0 1 Location Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia Area 22,966 km sq 331,210 km sq Coastline 386 km 3,444 km Climate tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
