Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north,the Caribbean Sea to the east,and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 441,471 (2022). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It is the least populated and least densely populated country in Central America. Its population growth rate of 1.87% per year is the second-highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Belmopan,and its largest city is the namesake city of Belize City. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations. Belize's institutions and official language reflect its history as a British colony.
Politics of Belize takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy,whereby King Charles III serves as head of state and the prime minister is the head of government,and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Belize.
Belize maintains 14 embassies to foreign countries,one consulate,and three missions to international organizations. In 1990,Belize became a member of the Organization of American States,and the Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.
Sir Colville Norbert Young is a Belizean politician who served as the 2nd Governor-General of Belize. He is also a patron of the Scout Association of Belize. He was appointed as the Governor-General in 1993,taking office on 17 November of that year,and was knighted in 1994.
Sir Manuel Amadeo Esquivel was a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party,he served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989,and then again from 1993 to 1998. His party's victory in 1984 was the first time an opposition party had won a general election in Belize.
Dame Elmira Minita Gordon was a Belizean educator,psychologist and politician;she served as the first governor general of Belize from its independence in 1981 until 1993. She was the first Belizean to receive a doctorate in psychology. She is one of the few "double dames",having received damehoods in two separate orders:the Order of St Michael and St George and the Royal Victorian Order.
The Secretary General of the Caribbean Community is the Chief Executive Officer of the Community and the head of its principal administrative organ,the CARICOM Secretariat.
Belizean passports are issued to Belizean citizens to travel outside Belize. The passport is a Caricom passport as Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community.
The monarchy of Belize is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Belize. The current Belizean monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022,is King Charles III. As sovereign,he is the personal embodiment of the Belizean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations,each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result,the current monarch is officially titled Kingof Belize and,in this capacity,he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions as representatives of the Belizean state. However,the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
Mia Amor Mottley,is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold either position. She is also Barbados' first prime minister under its republican system,following constitutional changes she introduced that abolished the country's constitutional monarchy.
The economy of Belize is a small,essentially private enterprise economy that is based primarily on agriculture,tourism,and services. The cultivation of newly discovered oil in the town of Spanish Lookout has presented new prospects and problems for this developing nation. Belize's primary exports are citrus,sugar,and bananas. Belize's trade deficit has been growing,mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas.
Wilfred Peter "Sedi" Elrington is a Belizean politician who has been the Foreign Minister of Belize since 2008.
His Majesty's Government in Belize,also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize,a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from the United Kingdom. The constitution is the supreme law of Belize.
The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) is an accrediting body for the education programmes and schools of medicine,dentistry,veterinary medicine,nursing and other health professions in the 15 member nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). CAAM-HP was established in 2003 and is headquartered in Kingston,Jamaica.
Keith Christopher Rowley is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago,first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general election. He has led the People's National Movement (PNM) since May 2010 and was Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. He has also served as the Member of the House of Representatives for Diego Martin West since 1991. He is a volcanologist by profession,holding a doctorate in geology,specializing in geochemistry.
Cheryl Krusen is a Caribbean lawyer. A dual national of Jamaica and Belize,she has served in legal positions in various countries for three decades.
General elections were held in Belize on 11 November 2020 to elect the 31 members of the House of Representatives. Nomination day was 21 October.
The Belize People's Front is a Belizean progressive and social democratic centre-left political party founded in 2013. The BPF made its electoral debut in the 2020 Belizean general election on 11 November 2020,in which it fielded 13 candidates and became the third largest political party in the country. BPF's leader Nancy Marin is the first female political party leader in Belize.
Destiny Evelyn Wagner is a Belizean author,television host,digital influencer,model,and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Earth 2021. She is the first Belizean to win the Miss Earth title,and the first to win one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Elvia Vega-Samos is a Belizean politician. She is MP for Corozal Bay and Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Development,Families &Indigenous People's Affairs.
