Belize is a country located on the eastern coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on the northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by Guatemala. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 387,879 (2017). Its mainland is about 180 mi (290 km) long and 68 mi (110 km) wide. It has the lowest population and population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 1.87% per year (2015) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Belmopan is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Although the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Founded as a planned community in 1970, Belmopan is one of the newest national capital cities in the world. Since 2000 Belmopan has been one of two settlements in Belize to hold official city status, along with Belize City.
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.
Chetumal is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco. In 2010 it had a population of 151,243 people.
.bz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Belize. It is administered by the University of Belize.
Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, which operated from 1994–2011 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry.
The Scout Association of Belize, a national Scouting organization in Belize was formed in 1987 as a successor to The Scout Association of the United Kingdom's Belize branch. The association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1987. The coeducational Scout Association of Belize claimed 3,041 members as of 2011, with some 27 Scout groups located in six districts.
Full Basket Belize (FBB) is a US-registered, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization with two functions: to provide a forum of communication for those interested in the social development of Belize, and to provide an effective conduit of support for scholarships and community-based development projects in Belize. Since its inception in 2004 as IFOB, the organization has grown significantly in both world-wide support and contributions.
Amandala is a Belizean tabloid newspaper; published twice weekly, it is considered the "most widely circulated newspaper in Belize". It was established on 13 August 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been politically independent since the mid-1970s. Its offices are located at 3304 Partridge Street in Belize City.
Sports have always played a major part of Belizean culture. While Belize has never been an international sporting power, the nation's athletes have taken their discipline seriously. Sports in the country is plagued by a lack of finance and sporting facilities, and little emphasis on sports as an integral part of national culture and pride. Nevertheless, sports continue to unify Belizeans on and off the field.
The Constitution of Belize is the supreme law of the nation of Belize. It was signed on September 1981 with effect from that date.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization's main objective is the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of Caribbean people.
The Belizean Writers and Poets Society is a literary organization established in 2005 to promote Belizean writing and poetry.
ISO 3166-2:BZ is the entry for Belize in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) is a non-profit organization, based in the United States, that addresses the tropical deforestation crisis in Central America and provides farmers with sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture. SHI is dedicated to working with farming communities in Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, and Panama to overcome poverty and restore tropical forests in these nations.
Water resources management in Belize is carried out by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) in most cases. One of the primary challenges the country is facing with regard to water resources management, however, is the lack of coordinated and comprehensive policies and institutions. Furthermore, there are various areas of water management that are not well addressed at all such as groundwater data and provision of supply. Data on irrigation and drainage is not adequately available either. Demand on water resources is growing as the population increases, new economic opportunities are created, and the agriculture sector expands. This increased demand is placing new threats on the quality and quantity of freshwater resources. Other constant challenge for management entities are the constant threat of floods from tropical storms and hurricanes. The Belize National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is charged with flood management as they occur but it is unclear what institution has responsibility for stormwater infrastructures.
The Belize National Youth Chess Foundation (B.N.Y.C.F.) was co-founded by Ian & Ella Anderson in the summer of 2007 as a not-for-profit organization and with a small army of volunteers it spread throughout the country. The game of Chess has been around for a very long time but in Belize there were no formal organizations and no figures to indicate how many people were playing the game. Building on the founding by Mr. Robert Landolfi and Mr. Glen Reneau of the first school chess club at Hummingird Elementary and the Belize Association of Chess Players in Belize City, due to the efforts of the B.N.Y.C.F. there are now teams ranging from the most southern villages in Toledo District to the most northern villages along the Belize-Mexico border in the Corozal District. Since 2007, the organization has more than 50 active chess clubs and over 1400 players around the country and it functions all year round. An interview with Ian Anderson, Co-Chair, reveals that chess is not only a pastime or hobby in Belize; it can and should be used “as an educational tool to help develop the minds of primary school students.” The B.N.Y.C.F. has worked with primary schools to successfully integrate chess as a part of the curriculum of the primary schools in Belize. Within one year the game of Chess became the fastest growing sport in the country. As part of its efforts to promote this sport, the B.N.Y.C.F. assisted the Belize Chess Federation to become active again in 2008 by updating fees due to FIDE, the World Chess affiliate.
Law enforcement in Belize is conducted by the Belize Police Department headed by a Commissioner and headquartered in Belize City.
Abortion in Belize is restricted by criminal law, but permitted under certain conditions.
