Demographics
Belize is situated on the Caribbean Sea, south of Mexico and east and north of Guatemala in Central America. In area, it is about the size of New Hampshire. Most of the country is heavily forested with various hardwoods. Mangrove swamps and cays along the coast give way to hills and mountains in the interior. The highest point is Victoria Peak, 3,681 ft (1,122 m). Belize is located in between the Hondo and Sarstoon Rivers, with the Belize River flowing down in the centre of the country. All along the Caribbean coast are found coral reefs or cays.

• Country name: Belize
• Capital Name: Belmopan
• Population: 301,270 (July 2008 est.)
• Nationality: Belizean(s)
• 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)
• Ethnic Groups: Mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% (2000 census)

Economy
In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy, tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by exports of marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 4% in 1999-2007. Oil discoveries in 2006 bolstered the economic growth in 2006 and 2007. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt. In February 2007, the government restructured nearly all of its public external commercial debt, which will reduce interest payments and relieve liquidity concerns. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

• GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.444 billion (2007 est.)
• GDP - real growth rate: 2.2% (2007 est.)
• GDP - per capita (PPP): $7,900 (2007 est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2007 est.)
• Exports: $415 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
• Imports: $641 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Government
Parliamentary democracy. Belize's form of government is modeled like that of the Westminster system. The governor general, prime minister, and cabinet are the executive branch of the government. The legislative branch comprised of a twenty-nine member elected House of Representatives and an eight-member appointed Senate. Six members of the Senate are appointed by the ruling Party, three by the Opposition and three by the Governor General. The President of the Senate is nominated by the ruling party but must be elected by the other members. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General and is the leader of the ruling party and the Cabinet. The judicial system consists of a supreme court and magistrate court; each district has a magistrate court, with the exception of Belize City which has four. Each of the nine towns, including San Pedro and Benque Viejo del Carmen, has a locally elected seven member town board, except Belize City which has a nine member city council.

• Administrative divisions: 11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
• Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.
• Constitution: 30 November 1966
• Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)

References
Government of Belize - Official Website
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - The World Factbook
Nation Master - World Data Center
Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
The Library Congress - Country Studies
Lonely Planet - Travel Guidebook