Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Belize.

Adapter Kit: Belize: A Traveler's Tools for Living Like a Local by Lan Sluder

Birds of Belize by H. Lee Jones

The Rough Guide to Belize: Includes Tikal and the Bay Islands (Belize (Rough Guides)) by Peter Eltringham

Belize Map by Jack Joyce

San Pedro Cool: The Guide to Ambergris Caye, Belize by Lan Sluder

A Field Guide to Mexican Birds : Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador by Roger Tory Peterson

Lonely Planet Belize (Belize, 1st Ed) by Carolyn Miller Carlstroem

Sastun : One Woman's Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer and Their Efforts to Save the Vani by Rosita Arvigo

A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas : Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Third Edi by Ernest Preston Edwards

Insight Guide Belize (Insight Guide) by Huw Hennessy

Traveler's Guide to Mexican Camping: Explore Mexico and Belize With Your Rv or Tent (Traveler's Guide to Mexican Camping, 2nd Ed) by Mike Church

Fodor's Belize & Guatemala 4th ed. by Fodor's

Belize Retirement Guide: How to Live in a Tropical Paradise on $450 a Month by Bill Gray

Hidden Belize: Including Tikal, Copan, and the Cayes by Richard Harris

Jaguar: One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve by Alan Rabinowitz

Belize

Belize is a small nation in Central America, on the Caribbean Sea bordering Mexico to the northwest and Guatemala to the west and south. Honduras lies 75 km away at the two nations' closest point across the Gulf of Honduras to the east. In the Spanish language Belize is usually called Belice. Belize was formerly known as British Honduras and the current name is derived from Belize City and the Belize River. Belize City is the country's only city, as well as the principal port and its former capital. Belize (In Detail) (Full size) National motto: "Sub Umbra Floreo"(Latin: Under the Shade I Flourish) Official language English Capital Belmopan Queen Elizabeth II Governor-GeneralSir Colville Young Prime Minister Said Musa Area - Total - % waterRanked 146th 22,966 km² 0.7% Population - Total (2003 E) - Density Ranked 171st 266,440 12/km² Independence - Date From the UK September 21, 1981 Currency Belizean dollar (BZD) Time zone UTC -6 National anthem Land of the Free Internet TLD.BZ Calling Code501 Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 History 2 Politics 3 Districts 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External Links History Main article: History of Belize The Maya civilization spread over Belize between 1500 BC and 300 AD and flourished until about 1200 AD. The first Europeans arrived in the area in the early 16th century and settlement began with shipwrecked English seamen in 1638. This period also was marked by piracy, indiscriminate logging, and sporadic conflict with Amerindian tribes and the neighbouring Spanish. Belize grew into a more official colony of the United Kingdom during the late 18th, early 19th century under the name of British Honduras, which became a crown colony in 1862. A self-governing colony since January 1964 and renamed Belize in June 1973, George Price led the country to full independence in September 1981 after delays caused by territorial disputes with neighbouring Guatemala, which did not formally recognise the country until 1991. Politics Main article: Politics of Belize Belize is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The British monarch is head of state and is represented in the country by a governor general who must be a Belizean. The primary executive organ of government is the cabinet, led by a prime minister who is head of government. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in parliament and usually hold elected seats within it concurrently with their cabinet positions. The bicameral Belizean parliament is the National Assembly, which consists of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The 29 members of the House are popularly elected to a maximum 5-year term. Of the Senate's eight members, five are elected by the prime minister, two by the leader of the opposition, and one by the governor general on the advice of the Belize Advisory Council. The Senate is headed by a president, who is a nonvoting member appointed by the governing party. Districts Main article: Districts of Belize Belize consists of 6 districts:

Belize District Central Sea coast
Cayo District West Central Belize
Corozal District Northern Belize
Orange Walk District Below Corozal
Stann Creek DistrictBelow Cayo
Toledo District Southern Belize

Geography Main article: Geography of Belize The north of Belize consists mostly of flat, swampy coastal plains, in places heavily forested. In the south is found the low mountain range of the Maya Mountains, of which the highest point in Belize is Victoria Peak at 1,160 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. The local climate is tropical and generally very hot and humid. The rainy season lasts from May to November and frequent natural hazards include hurricanes and flooding. Economy Main article: Economy of 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. The government's expansionary 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% due to the global slowdown and severe hurricane damage to agriculture, fishing, and tourism. 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 Main article: Demographics of Belize Most Belizeans are of multiracial descent. About half the population is of mixed Maya and European descent (Mestizo); 25% are of African and Afro-European (Creole) ancestry; about 10% are Maya; and about 6% are Afro-Amerindian (Garifuna). The remainder includes European, Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern and North American groups. English is the official language. Most Belizeans other than recent arrivals from neighboring countries have at least a working knowledge of English. English or Creole English predominates along the coast, and in the center and south of the country. In the west and north, the Spanish language is more widely spoken. Spanish is the native tongue of about 50% of the people and is spoken as a second language by another 20%. The various Maya groups still speak Maya languages, and an English Creole dialect, similar to the Creole dialects of the English-speaking Caribbean Islands, is spoken by most. Some communities in southern Belize mostly speak Garifuna. About 50% of the population is Roman Catholic; the Anglican Church and other Protestant Christian groups account for most of the remainder. About 5% belong to the German-/Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonite community. Culture Main article: Culture of Belize National Holidays include Baron Bliss Day on 9 March; Commonwealth Day on the second Monday in March; Labour Day on 1 May; The Battle of St. George's Caye on 10 September; Independence Day on 21 September, Pan American Day on 13 October; and Garifuna Settlement Day on 19 November.

Miscellaneous topics

Material in some of these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. External Links

Government of Belize - Official governmental site
Belize.Net - Belizean portal
Map

The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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