The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
1,960 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - imports:
7,122 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
6.7 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
-$43 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$429 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood
Exports - partners:
US 28.7%, UK 16.3%, Thailand 5.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.4%, Finland 4.2%,
Spain 4% (2007)
Imports:
$642 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco
Imports - partners:
US 31.2%, Mexico 13.6%, Cuba 8.5%, Guatemala 8%, Russia 4.6% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$12.91 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$109 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$1.2 billion (June 2005 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Currency (code):
Belizean dollar (BZD)
Currency code:
BZD
Exchange rates:
Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar - 2 (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Communications
Belize
Telephones - main lines in use:
33,900 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
118,300 (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: above-average system; fixed-line teledensity of 12 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of about 40 per 100 persons domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006)
Radios:
133,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
5 (2006)
Televisions:
41,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.bz
Internet hosts:
2,751 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)
Internet users:
32,000 (2007)
Transportation
Belize
Airports:
44 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 27 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 3,007 km paved: 575 km unpaved: 2,432 km (2006)
Waterways:
825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2007)
Merchant marine:
total: 216 by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 32, cargo 152, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 178 (Australia 1, China 71, Croatia 2, Cyprus 1, Estonia 6, Greece 1, Iceland 2, Italy 3, Japan 8, South Korea 1, Latvia 12, Norway 3, Peru 1, Russia 31, Singapore 2, Spain 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 7, UAE 5, UK 5) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Belize City, Big Creek
Military
Belize
Military branches:
Belize Defense Force (BDF): Army, BDF Air Wing, BDF Volunteer Guard (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription has never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available positions by 3:1 (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 74,605 females age 16–49: 72,926 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 54,627 females age 16–49: 53,500 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 3,580 female: 3,449 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.4% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues
Belize
Disputes - international:
OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures saw cooperation in repatriation of Guatemalan squatters and other areas, but Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea remain unresolved; the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; Honduras claims Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays in its constitution but agreed to a joint ecological park under the Differendum
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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