Belize

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 1854. 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. Guatemala and Belize are gearing up for a simultaneous referendum to determine if this dispute will go before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, high crime rates, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Belize dollar (ISO code: BZD)
* Central bank discount rate: 12% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 14.14% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $345.7 million (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $653.8 million (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Belize: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	733 	832 	872 	933 	988 	1 056	1 115	1 213	1 277	1 359
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Belize: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Belize: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Belize: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Belize on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Belize
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries