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 1862. 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. Both nations have voted to send the dispute for final resolution to the International Court of Justice. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include the country’s heavy foreign debt burden, high crime rates, high unemployment combined with a majority youth population, growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Central America.
land: 22,806 sq km
water: 160 sq km
border countries (2): Guatemala 266 km; Mexico 276 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
mean elevation: 173 m
arable land: 3.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 2.2% (2018 est.)
forest: 60.6% (2018 est.)
other: 32.5% (2018 est.)
419,137 (2023 est.)
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean
Mestizo 52.9%, Creole 25.9%, Maya 11.3%, Garifuna 6.1%, East Indian 3.9%, Mennonite 3.6%, White 1.2%, Asian 1%, other 1.2%, unknown 0.3% (2010 est.)
note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic origin
English 62.9% (official), Spanish 56.6%, Creole 44.6%, Maya 10.5%, German 3.2%, Garifuna 2.9%, other 1.8%, unknown 0.5%; note - shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2010 est.)
major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
Roman Catholic 40.1%, Protestant 31.5% (includes Pentecostal 8.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 5.4%, Anglican 4.7%, Mennonite 3.7%, Baptist 3.6%, Methodist 2.9%, Nazarene 2.8%), Jehovah’s Witness 1.7%, other 10.5% (includes Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Church of Jesus Christ, Muslim, Rastafarian, Salvation Army), unspecified 0.6%, none 15.5% (2010 est.)
Migration continues to transform Belize’s population. About 16% of Belizeans live abroad, while immigrants constitute approximately 15% of Belize’s population. Belizeans seeking job and educational opportunities have preferred to emigrate to the United States rather than former colonizer Great Britain because of the United States’ closer proximity and stronger trade ties with Belize. Belizeans also emigrate to Canada, Mexico, and English-speaking Caribbean countries. The emigration of a large share of Creoles (Afro-Belizeans) and the influx of Central American immigrants, mainly Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Hondurans, has changed Belize’s ethnic composition. Mestizos have become the largest ethnic group, and Belize now has more native Spanish speakers than English or Creole speakers, despite English being the official language. In addition, Central American immigrants are establishing new communities in rural areas, which contrasts with the urbanization trend seen in neighboring countries. Recently, Chinese, European, and North American immigrants have become more frequent.Immigration accounts for an increasing share of Belize’s population growth rate, which is steadily falling due to fertility decline. Belize’s declining birth rate and its increased life expectancy are creating an aging population. As the elderly population grows and nuclear families replace extended households, Belize’s government will be challenged to balance a rising demand for pensions, social services, and healthcare for its senior citizens with the need to reduce poverty and social inequality and to improve sanitation.
0-14 years: 30.93% (male 66,160/female 63,478)
15-64 years: 64.15% (male 134,019/female 134,867)
65 years and over: 4.92% (2023 est.) (male 9,741/female 10,872)
total dependency ratio: 49.7
youth dependency ratio: 42.3
elderly dependency ratio: 7.4
potential support ratio: 13.5 (2021 est.)
total: 26.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 26.1 years
female: 26.8 years
1.47% (2023 est.)
18 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
approximately 25% to 30% of the population lives in the former capital, Belize City; over half of the overall population is rural; population density is slightly higher in the north and east
urban population: 46.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
23,000 BELMOPAN (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
130 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 11.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 12.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 73.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 71.9 years
female: 75.6 years
2.08 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.02 (2023 est.)
51.4% (2015/16)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 99.4% of population
total: 99.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0.6% of population
total: 0.3% of population (2020 est.)
6.9% of GDP (2020)
1.08 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
1 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 99.1% of population
rural: 95.7% of population
total: 97.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.9% of population
rural: 4.3% of population
total: 2.7% of population (2020 est.)
24.1% (2016)
total: 5.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 8.5% (2020 est.)
male: 15.1% (2020 est.)
female: 1.8% (2020 est.)
4.6% (2015/16)
64.3% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 6.3%
women married by age 18: 33.5%
men married by age 18: 22.2% (2016 est.)
8.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2021)
deforestation; water pollution, including pollution of Belize’s Barrier Reef System, from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; inability to properly dispose of solid waste
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
agricultural land: 6.9% (2018 est.)
arable land: 3.3% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 2.2% (2018 est.)
forest: 60.6% (2018 est.)
other: 32.5% (2018 est.)
urban population: 46.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.31% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 10.51 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.57 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 0.55 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 101,379 tons (2015 est.)
municipal: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 70 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
21.73 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
tourism- and agriculture-driven economy; strong post-pandemic rebound; innovative and ecological bond restructuring that significantly lowered public debt and expanded marine protections; central bank offering USD-denominated treasury notes; high mobility across borders
$3.505 billion (2021 est.)
$3.042 billion (2020 est.)
$3.513 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
15.23% (2021 est.)
-13.4% (2020 est.)
4.5% (2019 est.)
$8,800 (2021 est.)
$7,700 (2020 est.)
$9,000 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$1.854 billion (2017 est.)
3.24% (2021 est.)
0.12% (2020 est.)
0.19% (2019 est.)
Moody’s rating: Caa3 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: CCC+ (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 10.3% (2017 est.)
industry: 21.6% (2017 est.)
services: 68% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 75.1% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 15.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 22.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 1.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 49.1% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -63.2% (2017 est.)
sugar care, oranges, bananas, maize, poultry, rice, sorghum, papayas, grapefruit, soybeans
garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil
15.08% (2021 est.)
176,900 (2021 est.)
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel
8.22% (2021 est.)
8.46% (2020 est.)
6.71% (2019 est.)
total: 19.3% (2021 est.)
male: 12.2%
female: 31.9%
41% (2013 est.)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $583 million (2019 est.)
expenditures: $656 million (2019 est.)
-1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
99% of GDP (2017 est.)
95.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
21.16% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
1 April - 31 March
-$162.434 million (2021 est.)
-$127.92 million (2020 est.)
-$184.646 million (2019 est.)
$1.044 billion (2021 est.)
$714.624 million (2020 est.)
$1.102 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
United States 16%, United Kingdom 16%, Guatemala 7%, Italy 6%, Spain 6% (2021)
raw sugar, bananas, fishing ships, lobsters and crawfish, beer (2021)
$1.252 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$901.819 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.203 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
United States 29%, China 14%, Seychelles 13%, Guatemala 10%, Mexico 9% (2021)
recreational boats, refined petroleum, cigarettes, ships, natural gas (2021)
$420,102,800 (31 December 2021 est.)
$348,090,100 (31 December 2020 est.)
$277,578,800 (31 December 2019 est.)
$1.315 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.338 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
2 (2021 est.)
2 (2020 est.)
2 (2019 est.)
2 (2018 est.)
2 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 97.7% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 98.4% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 97% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 204,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 992.305 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 240 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 80.3 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 63.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 13.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 22.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 1,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 3,900 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 1,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 6.7 million barrels (2021 est.)
36 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
4,161 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
541,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 541,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
31.552 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 2 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 28
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,297,533 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 3.78 million (2018) mt-km
V3
47 (2021)
6
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
41
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
total: 3,281 km (2017)
paved: 601 km (2017)
unpaved: 2,680 km (2017)
825 km (2011) (navigable only by small craft)
total: 817 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 51, general cargo 433, oil tanker 67, other 266
major seaport(s): Belize City, Big Creek
manyapis