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Belize Fact File
Belize Fact File: General Information
Population: 294,385 (July 2007 est.)
Size of Country: 22,966 sq km (slightly smaller than Massachusetts)
Capital City: Belmopan
Time Zone: GMT-6 (1 hour behind EST, no daylight savings time)
Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
Currency: The Belize dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at BZ$2 = US$1
Language: Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%
System of Government: Parliamentary democracy, led by Prime Minister Said Musa
Telephone Country Code: 501
Electricity: 110 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style two-pin plugs
National Holidays: Independence Day, Sept. 21 (1981)
Religion: Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27%
Life Expectancy at Birth: 68.25 years
Economy: In this small, essentially private-enterprise economy, tourism is the No. 1 foreign exchange earner, followed by exports of marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments
Exports: $427 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports: $612 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Gross Domestic Product (Purchasing Power Parity): $2.307 billion (2006 est.)
GDP per Capita: $8,400 (2006 est.)
Inflation Rate: 4.3% (2006 est.)
Source: CIA The World Factbook