Part 10
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: BO
Type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk) note: the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in parentheses
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)
Constitution: adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14% head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since July 1994); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN, Viktor GONCHAR, Sergey LING, Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH, Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Soviet: elections last held 4 April 1990 (next to be held 14 May 1995); results - Communists 87%; seats - (360 total) number of seats by party NA; note - 50 seats are for public bodies; the Communist Party obtained an overwhelming majority
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), Zenon POZNYAK, chairman; Party of Popular Accord, Gennadiy KARPENKO; Union of Belarusian Entreprenuers, V. N. KARYAGIN; Belarusian Party of Communists, Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Belarus Peasant Party, Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Socialist Party, Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV, chairman; Belarusian Social Democrat Party (SDBP), Oleg TRUSOV, Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairmen; Agrarian Party of Belarus, Aleksandr DUBKO; United Democratic Party of Belarus (UDPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY, chairman; Independent Trade Unions, Sergey ANTONCHIK, chairman
Member of: CCC, CE (guest), CEI (associate members), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth Spencer YALOWITZ embassy: Starovilenskaya #46, Minsk mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (0172) 34-65-37
Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top), red, and white
@Belarus:Economy
Overview: Belarus ranks among the most developed of the former Soviet states, with a relatively modern - by Soviet standards - and diverse machine building sector and a robust agriculture sector. It also serves as a transport link for Russian oil exports to the Baltic states and Eastern and Western Europe. The breakup of the Soviet Union and its command economy has resulted in a sharp economic contraction as traditional trade ties have collapsed. The Belarusian government has lagged behind the governments of most other former Soviet states in economic reform, with privatization almost nonexistent. The system of state orders and distribution persists. In mid-1994, the Belarusian government embarked on an austerity program with IMF support to slash state credits and consumer subsidies in order to bring down the budget deficit and reduce inflation. However, despite its promising start, the regime's drive to reinvigorate the economy has fallen short, and the IMF has criticized its failure to implement the reforms that the Fund had negotiated. As a result, the IMF has suspended talks on introducing a stand-by arrangement. Economic relations with Russia, which will have an important bearing on the future course of the economy, will be strengthened if Minsk adopts the necessary legislation to implement a customs union agreed to in January 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $53.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -20% (1994)
National product per capita: $5,130 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29% per month (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1.4% officially registered unemployed (December 1993); large numbers of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $968 million to outside of the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria
Imports: $534 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland
External debt: $1.5 billion (July 1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -19% (1994); accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)
Electricity: capacity: 7,010,000 kW production: 31.4 billion kWh consumption per capita: 3,010 kWh (1994)
Industries: employ about 40% of labor force and produced a wide variety of products including (in percent share of total output of former Soviet Union): tractors (12%); metal-cutting machine tools (11%); off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity (100%); wheel-type earthmovers for construction and mining (100%); eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas (100%); equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding (25%); motorcycles (21.3%); television sets (11%); chemical fibers (28%); fertilizer (18%); linen fabric (11%); wool fabric (7%); radios; refrigerators; and other consumer goods
Agriculture: accounts for almost 25% of GDP and 5.7% of total agricultural output of former Soviet Union; employs 21% of the labor force; in 1988 produced the following (in percent of total Soviet production): grain (3.6%), potatoes (12.2%), vegetables (3.0%), meat (6.0%), milk (7.0%); net exporter of meat, milk, eggs, flour, potatoes
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: Belarusian rubel (BR)
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 10,600 (end December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Belarus:Transportation
Railroads: total: 5,570 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 5,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 98,200 km paved: 66,100 km unpaved: earth 32,100 km (1990)
Inland waterways: NA km
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports: Mazyr
Merchant marine: note: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet
Airports: total: 118 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 62
@Belarus:Communications
Telephone system: 1,849,000 telephones (December 1991); 18 telephones/100 persons; telephone service inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992); new investment centers on international connections and business needs; the new BelCel NMT 450 cellular system (a joint venture) is now operating in Minsk local: NA intercity: NA international: international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by 2 satellite earth stations near Minsk - INTELSAT (through Canada) and EUTELSAT (through the UK)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0 radios: 3.14 million (5,615,000 with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: 3.538 million
@Belarus:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,550,500; males fit for military service 1,999,138; males reach military age (18) annually 71,808 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 56.5 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
________________________________________________________________________
BELGIUM
@Belgium:Geography
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 30,510 sq km land area: 30,230 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 1,385 km, France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
Coastline: 64 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: median line with neighbors exclusive fishing zone: median line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast) territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Natural resources: coal, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 21% other: 34%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes to acid rain in neighboring countries natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of the EU
@Belgium:People
Population: 10,081,880 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 875,079; male 919,939) 15-64 years: 66% (female 3,303,219; male 3,363,250) 65 years and over: 16% (female 969,966; male 650,427) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.46 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.21 years male: 73.94 years female: 80.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belgian(s) adjective: Belgian
Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Languages: Dutch 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11% divided along ethnic lines
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 4.126 million by occupation: services 63.6%, industry 28%, construction 6.1%, agriculture 2.3% (1988)
@Belgium:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Royaume de Belgique local short form: Belgique
Digraph: BE
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Flemish: provincien, singular - provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; the king appoints the ministers who are approved by the legislature
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: (Flemish - Senaat, French - Senat); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by the end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (184 total; of which 106 are directly elected; in the 1995 elections, seats will decrease to 71) CVP 20, SP 14, VLD 13, VU 5, AGALEV 5, VB 5, ROSSEN 1, PS 18, PRL 9, PSC 9, ECOLO 6, FDF 1 Chamber of Deputies: (Flemish - Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French - Chambre des Representants); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by 21 May 1995); results - CVP 16.7%, PS 13.6%, SP 12.0%, VLD 11.9%, PRL 8.2%, PSC 7.8%, VB 6.6%, VU 5.9%, ECOLO 5.1%, AGALEV 4.9%, FDF 2.6%, ROSSEM 3.2%, FN 1.5%; seats - (212 total; in 1995 elections, seats will decrease to 150) CVP 39, PS 35, SP 28, VLD 26, PRL 20, PSC 18, VB 12, VU 10, ECOLO 10, AGALEV 7, FDF 3, ROSSEM 3, FN 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish - Hof van Cassatie, French - Cour de Cassation)
Political parties and leaders: Flemish Christian Democrats (CVP - Christian People's Party), Johan van HECKE, president; Francophone Christian Democrats (PSC - Social Christian Party), Gerard DEPREZ, president; Flemish Socialist Party (SP), Louis TOBBACK, president; Francophone Socialist Party (PS), Philippe BUSQUIN, president; Flemish Liberal Democrats (VLD), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president; Francophone Liberal Reform Party (PRL), Jean GOL, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president; Volksunie (VU), Bert ANCIAUX, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN, chairman; ROSSEM, Jean Pierre VAN ROSSEM; National Front (FN), Daniel FERET, president; AGALEV (Flemish Greens), no president; ECOLO (Francophone Ecologists), no president; other minor parties
Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi
Member of: ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Andre ADAM (appointed 3 October 1994) chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. BLINKEN embassy: 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: APO AE 09724; PSC 82, Box 002, Brussels telephone: [32] (2) 513 38 30 FAX: [32] (2) 511 27 25
Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
@Belgium:Economy
Overview: This small private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Three-fourths of its trade is with other EU countries. The economy grew at a strong 4% pace during the period 1988-90, slowed to 1% in 1991-92, dropped by 1.5% in 1993, and recovered with 2.3% growth in 1994. Belgium's public debt has risen to 140% of GDP, and the government is trying to control its expenditures to bring the figure more into line with other industrialized countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $181.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $18,040 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 14.1% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $97.8 billion expenditures: $109.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $117 billion (f.o.b., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities: iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products partners: EC 75.5%, US 3.7%, former Communist countries 1.4% (1991)
Imports: $120 billion (c.i.f., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities: fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs partners: EC 73%, US 4.8%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, former Communist countries 1.8% (1991)
External debt: $31.3 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -0.1% (1993 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 14,040,000 kW production: 66 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,334 kWh (1993)
Industries: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
Agriculture: accounts for 2.0% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production - beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; net importer of farm products
Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine entering the European market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
Currency: 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1 - 31.549 (January 1995), 33.456 (1994), 34.597 (1993), 32.150 (1992), 34.148 (1991), 33.418 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Belgium:Transportation
Railroads: total: 3,410 km (2,362 km electrified; 2,563 km double track) standard gauge: 3,410 km 1.435-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 137,912 km paved: 129,639 km (including 1,667 km of limited access divided highway) unpaved: 8,273 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
Pipelines: crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural gas 3,300 km
Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Hasselt, Liege, Mons, Namur, Oostende, Zeebrugge
Merchant marine: total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,055 GRT/56,842 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 9, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 2, oil tanker 5
Airports: total: 43 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Belgium:Communications
Telephone system: 4,720,000 telephones; highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities local: NA intercity: extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network; nationwide mobile phone system international: 5 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 1 EUTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 39, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 32 televisions: NA
@Belgium:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,559,077; males fit for military service 2,126,875; males reach military age (19) annually 61,488 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.9 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1994)
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BELIZE
@Belize:Geography
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 22,960 sq km land area: 22,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total 516 km, Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 miles; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
International disputes: border with Guatemala in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)
Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 2% forest and woodland: 44% other: 52%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff natural hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
@Belize:People
Population: 214,061 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 45,812; male 47,618) 15-64 years: 53% (female 55,630; male 57,230) 65 years and over: 3% (female 3,970; male 3,801) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.42% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.71 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.86 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.32 years male: 66.37 years female: 70.36 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean
Ethnic divisions: mestizo 44%, Creole 30%, Maya 11%, Garifuna 7%, other 8%
Religions: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980)
Languages: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 91% male: 91% female: 91%
Labor force: 51,500 by occupation: agriculture 30%, services 16%, government 15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3% note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
@Belize:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras
Digraph: BH
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Belmopan
Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1981)
Constitution: 21 September 1981
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG (since 17 November 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Manuel ESQUIVEL (since July 1993); Deputy Prime Minister Dean BARROW (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice from the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly Senate: consists of an 8-member appointed body; 5 members are appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 2 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 after consultation with the Belize Advisory Council (this council serves as an independent body to advise the governor-general with respect to difficult decisions such as granting pardons, commutations, stays of execution, the removal of justices of appeal who appear to be incompetent, etc.) National Assembly: elections last held 30 June 1993 (next to be held June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) PUP 13 UDP 15
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: People's United Party (PUP), George PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA; United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW; National Alliance for Belizean Rights, Philip GOLDSON
Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR), Assad SHOMAN; United Workers Front, leader NA
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dean R. LINDO chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador George Charles BRUNO embassy: Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City; APO: Unit 7401, APO AA 34025 telephone: [501] (2) 77161 through 77163 FAX: [501] (2) 30802
Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
@Belize:Economy