Belize Totally Explained

Belize (IPA: [bəˈliːz]) is the only official English speaking country in Central America. Belize was a British colony for more than a century and was known as British Honduras until 1973. It became an independent nation within The Commonwealth in 1981. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA) and considers itself to be culturally both Caribbean and Central American. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 km²) of territory and only 294,385 people (Belize CSO, 2007 mid year est.), the population density is the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world. However, the country's growth rate is 3.5% (2006 est.).

History

Amerindians which led way to the Mayans were amongst the original inhabitants of Belize. The Maya civilization spread itself over Belize between 1500 BC and 300 AD and flourished until about 900 AD. European settlement began with British Jews, privateers and shipwrecked English seamen as early as 1638.
   The origin of the name Belize is relatively unclear, but one theory is that it derives from the Spanish pronunciation of the surname of the pirate who created the first settlement in Belize in 1638, Peter Wallace. Another possibility is that the name is from the Maya word belix, meaning "muddy water", applied to the Belize River.
   The early "settlement of Belize in the Bay of Honduras" grew from a few habitations located at Belize Town and St George's Caye into a de-facto colony of the United Kingdom during the late eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century the settlement was called British Honduras, and in 1871 it became a Crown Colony.
   Taking advantage of Spain’s inability to establish--and apparent lack of interest in establishing--control over present-day Belize, Englishmen began to cut logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum L.), a dyewood greatly valued in Europe as the principal dyestuff for the expanding woolen industry. By the 1770s, a second tropical exotic timber, mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King), replaced logwood as the main export from Belize. The economy of Belize remained based on the extraction of mahogany until the early 1900s when the cultivation of export crops such as citrus, sugar cane, and bananas came to dominate the economy. Hurricane Hattie inflicted significant damage upon Belize in 1961. The government decided that a coastal capital city lying below sea level was too risky. Over several years, the British colonial government designed a new capital, Belmopan, at the exact geographic centre of the country, and in 1970 began slowly moving the governing offices there.
   British Honduras became a self-governing colony in January 1964 and was renamed "Belize" on June 1 1973; it was the United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland. George Price led the country to full independence on September 21 1981 after delays caused by territorial disputes with neighbouring Guatemala, which didn't formally recognize the country.
   Throughout Belize's history, Guatemala has claimed ownership of all or part of the territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in maps showing Belize as Guatemala's twenty-third province. As of March 2007, the border dispute with Guatemala remains unresolved and quite contentious; at various times the issue has required mediation by the United Kingdom, CARICOM heads of Government, the Organization of American States and, on one occasion, the United States. Since independence, a British garrison has been retained in Belize at the request of the Belizean Government. Notably, both Guatemala and Belize are participating in the confidence-building measures approved by the OAS, including the Guatemala-Belize Language Exchange Project.
   Belize was recently the site of unrest directed at the country's ruling party, concerning tax increases in the national budget.

Politics

Belize is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
   The current head of state is the Queen of Belize, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who is represented in the country by the Governor-General. However, the cabinet, led by a prime minister, who is head of government, acting as advisors to the Governor-General, in practice exercise executive authority. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in parliament and usually hold elected seats within it concurrent with their cabinet positions.
   The bicameral National Assembly of Belize is composed of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The twenty-nine members of the House are popularly elected to a maximum five-year term and introduce legislation affecting the development of Belize. The Governor-General appoints the twelve members of the Senate, with a Senate president selected by the members. The Senate is responsible for debating and approving bills passed by the House.
   Belize is a full participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Districts and constituencies

Belize is divided into 6 districts:

These districts are further divided into 31 constituencies.

Geography

Belize is located between the Hondo and Sarstoon Rivers, with the Belize River flowing down through the center of the country. The north of Belize consists mostly of flat, swampy coastal plains, in places heavily forested. The flora is highly diverse considering the small geographical area. The south contains the low mountain range of the Mayan Mountains. The highest point in Belize is Doyle's Delight at 1,124 m. (3,688 ft). The Caribbean coast is lined with a coral reef and some 450 islets and islands known locally as cayes (pronounced "keys"), forming the approximately 200 mile (322 km) long Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the western hemisphere and the second longest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef. Three of the four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere are also located off the coast of Belize. Belize is also the only Central American country without a coast on the Pacific Ocean.
The climate is tropical and generally very hot and humid. The rainy season lasts from May to November and hurricanes and floods are frequent natural hazards.

Economy

According to the CIA World Factbook Belize has the highest unemployment rate in Central America at 9.4%. The population living in poverty is at 33.5%, however, the government will invest close to $4.2 million in projects targeted at poverty alleviation across Belize.
The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming greater importance. Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. Citrus production has become a major industry along the Hummingbird Highway. More recently, discoveries of petroleum deposits in the Cayo District and possible deposits in the Toledo District have radically altered Belize's previously untapped mining and manufacturing capabilities.
The ruling government's big monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to GDP growth of 6.4% in 1999 and 10.5% in 2000. Growth decelerated in 2001 to 3% because of the global slowdown and severe hurricane damage to agriculture, fishing and tourism. Growth was in 2005 3.8%. Major concerns continue to be the rapidly expanding trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

Demographics

Racial tension is very uncommon because of the constant admixture of the different ethnic groups. Many people simply identify as "Belizean". Because of this, the ethnic composition of the country is sometimes hard to determine, but self identified Mestizos comprise 50% of the population, and Kriol 25%. The Indigenous Mayan also make up a good percentage of the Belizean population at 11%. The rest is a mix of Garifuna, Mennonite German farmers, South Asians, other Central Americans, whites from the United States of America, and many other foreign groups brought to assist the country's development. Not surprisingly, this mix creates an equally interesting mix of language and communication. English is the official language because Belize was a British colony and still has ties to Britain. However, most Belizeans use the more familiar Belize Kriol, an English-based language. Spanish has become important as the mother tongue of Mestizo and Central American settlers, and is a second language for much of the country. Less well known are the ancient Maya dialects, Garifuna (which is a mixture of the Carib language, Yoruban, French, and Spanish, and is also spoken in some communities in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua) and the Plautdietsch dialect of the Mennonites. Literacy currently stands at nearly 80%.

Birth and death rates/life expectancy

Belize's birth rate currently stands at nearly 25/1000. Nearly 6 people die per year out of 1,000 members of the population; this figure includes murders, accidents and death from natural causes. Infant mortality, now at 24 deaths per thousand people, has been improving over the last century. Male babies are more likely to die than females. The life expectancy of a typical male is 66 years, while for a female it's 70. HIV/AIDS, while not a serious threat to national stability, does affect enough of the population to give Belize a high rating among Caribbean and Central American nations.

Ethnic groups, nationalities

According to the latest census, the country's population is close to 300,000. The Maya are the most established of all ethnic groupings, having been in Belize and the Yucatán region since the 500s AD. However, much of Belize's original Maya population was wiped out by disease and conflicts between tribes and with Europeans. Three Maya groups now inhabit the country: Yucatecs (who came from Yucatán, Mexico to escape the Caste War), Mopans (indigenous to Belize, but were forced out by the British; they returned from Guatemala to evade slavery), and Kekchi (also fled from slavery in Guatemala).
   White English and Scottish settlers entered the area in the 1630s to cut logwood for export and began settling down. The first African slaves began arriving from elsewhere in the Caribbean and Africa and began intermarrying with whites and each other, to create the Belizean Kriol people ethnic grouping. After 1800, Mestizo settlers from Mexico and Guatemala began to settle in the North; the Garifuna, a mix of African and Carib ancestry, settled in the South by way of Honduras not long after that. During the 1860s a large influx of American Civil War veterans from Louisiana and other Southern states introduced commercial sugar cane production to the colony and established eleven settlements in the interior.
   The 1900s saw the arrival of Asian settlers from Mainland China, India, Taiwan, Korea, Syria, and Lebanon. Central American immigrants and expatriate Americans and Africans also began to settle in the country, presenting an interesting potage. However, this was balanced by the migration of Creoles and other ethnic groups to the United States and elsewhere for better opportunities. Estimates have generally placed the number of the Belizean diaspora, consisting mainly of Kriol and Garifuna, at a number roughly equal to the current residents of Belize.
   Belize has a relatively young and growing population. Its birth rate is among the highest in the world and there are indications that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

Language	Mother tongue speakers	Percentage	Current users	Percentage
Chinese	1,607	(0.8%)	1,529	(0.7%)
Kriol	67,527	(32.9%)	75,822	(37.0%)
English	7,946	(3.9%)	11,551	(5.6%)
Garifuna	6,929	(3.4%)	4,071	(2.0%)
German	6,783	(3.3%)	6.624	(3.2%)
Hindi	280	(0.1%)	193	(0.1%)
Maya Ketchi	10,142	(4.9%)	9,314	(4.5%)
Maya Mopan	6,909	(3.4%)	6,093	(3.0%)
Maya Yucateco	1,176	(0.6%)	613	(0.3%)
Spanish	94,422	(46.0%)	88,121	(43.0%)
Others / no answer	1,402	(0.7%)	1,192	(0.6%)

Religion

Belize is a predominantly Christian society. Roman Catholicism is accepted by about half of the population, and Protestantism by about a quarter. Much of the remaining population is comprised of Taoists, Buddhists and more recently introduced religions like Jainists, Islam, and Bahá'í. Hinduism is followed by most Indian immigrants; Islam is also common among the Middle-eastern immigrants and has also gained a following among Creoles and Garifuna. Religious freedom is guaranteed and churches dot the streets of Belize almost as frequently as places of business; Catholics frequently visit the country for special gospel revivals. Jehovah's Witnesses have also enjoyed significant increase in recent years and now make up around 2% of the population.

Culture and tourism

Belize boasts a rich mix of ethnicities including Creole, Maya, Mestizo, East Indian, Chinese, Garifuna and Mennonite. Among its other cultural attractions, it has thousands of Maya archaeological temples and in 2001 UNESCO declared the Garifuna language, dance and music a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity", along with Honduras and Nicaragua. Belize is the only country in Central America without a Pacific coastline and also the only one with English as its official language. According to the most recent vegetation surveys, about sixty percent (60%) of Belize's land mass is forested, with only about twenty percent (20%) of the country's land subject to human uses (for example agricultural land and human settlements). Savannas, scrublands and wetlands constitute extensive parts of the nation's land cover. As a result, Belize's biodiversity is rich, both marine and terrestrial, with a host of flora and fauna. About thirty-seven percent (37%) of Belize's land territory falls under some form of official protected status. As such conservation activities remain an important priority in government policy with the notable example of having the only jaguar reserve in the world among its protected areas. However, Belize is best known for its marine environment, in particular, for having the longest living barrier reef in the western hemisphere and the second longest contiguous reef in the world after Australia. Consequently, divers flock to Belize to enjoy its underwater attractions. Belize, as a consequence of its medley of cultural attractions, unique marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and conservation efforts, is fast becoming a hotspot for travellers seeking eco-tourism and adventure vacation experiences. Colonization, slavery, and immigration have played major roles in affecting the ethnic composition of the population and as a result, Belize is a country of various cultures, languages, and ethnic groups. Belize consists of Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Spanish, Maya, English, Mennonite, Lebanese, Chinese, and East Indian. Because of racial harmony and the religious tolerance of its various Christian peoples, all of these different elements have mixed and blended successfully, and Belize has gained a widespread reputation for its friendly peoples.
As a result of the country's long colonization by the British, English is the official language of Belize. Creole dialect frequently can be heard in the major cities and in the northern regions, Spanish is also widely spoken. Garifuna dialects are also heard, but it isn't as predominant as the above languages.
Food, music and socialization are as diverse as the people with whom they're associated.

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