Belize

The mainstay of Belize’s economy is tourism. In February 2007, the government restructured nearly all of its public external commercial debt, which helped reduce interest payments and relieve some of the country's liquidity concerns. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS.

Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Guatemala and Belize are gearing up for a simultaneous referendum to determine if this dispute will go before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Food For The Poor in Belize

Food For The Poor serves Belize primarily through donations of goods. Shipments to Belize include:

Food
Medicine
General health care items
Educational supplies

General Information - Belize

Area - 8,867 square miles (Belize is slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts.)
Population - 307,899 (July 2009 est.)
Capital - Belmopan
Independence Day, Sept. 21
Languages - English is the official language of Belize, and is spoken by 3.9 percent of the population. Spanish is spoken by 46 percent of the population, Creole by 32.9 percent, Mayan dialects by 8.9 percent, Garifuna (Carib) 3.4 percent, German 3.3 percent and classified as “other” is 1.4 percent (2000 census)
Religion - Belize’s population is 49.6 percent Roman Catholic, 27 percent Protestant, the rest of the population are either categorized as “other” or “none.”
Currency - 2 Belizean dollars = 1 U.S. dollars
Unemployment - 8.1% (2007)
Literacy rate - Total population: 76.9% | Male: 76.7% | Female: 77.1% (People age 15 and over who can read and write

Belize Demographics
By Age: (2009 est.) 0-14 years: 37.9% (male 59,462/female 57,117) 15-64 years: 58.6% (male 91,298/female 89,170) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 5,185/female 5,667)	Infant Mortality: (2009 est.) Total: 23.07 deaths/1,000 live births Male: 26 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 19.99 deaths/1,000 live births
Median Age: (2009 est.) Total: 20.4 years Male: 20.3 years Female: 20.6 years	Life Expectancy: (2009 est.) Total population: 68.2 years Male: 66.44 years Female: 70.05 years

Belize History

Belize was the site of several Mayan city-states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Belize did not become independent until 1981. Disputes over the territory between the UK and Guatemala delayed the country’s independence.

Belize

Food For The Poor in Belize

General Information - Belize

Belize Demographics

Belize History