Outline of Belize

The Flag of Belize		The Coat of arms of Belize

The location of Belize

An enlargeable map of Belize

See also: Index of Belize-related articles

Belize is a sovereign country located in Central America.^[1] Belize is the only Central American country where English is an official language. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many languages and cultures. The Belizean territory was once part of the Mayan and Spanish empires before becoming a British colony and for more than a century until 1973, the colonial territory was known as British Honduras. The country became an independent nation in 1981. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Commonwealth of Nations. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 km²) of territory and 297,651 people (Belize CSO, 2007 mid-year estimate), the population density is the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world. The country's growth rate is 3.5% (2006 estimate). It is bordered to the south and west by Guatemala, to the north and northwest by Mexico, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Belize:

General reference

A basic map of Belize

• Pronunciation: ⁱ/bəˈliːz/
• Common name in English: Belize (etymology)
• Official name in English: Belize
• Common endonym(s): Belize
• Official endonym(s): Belize
• Demonym(s): Belizean
• International rankings
• ISO country codes: BZ, BLZ, 084
• ISO region codes: see ISO 3166-2:BZ
• Internet country code top-level domain: .bz

Geography of Belize

An enlargeable topographic map of Belize

Main article: Geography of Belize

• Belize is...
  • a country
    • a nation state
    • a Commonwealth Realm
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
    • Americas
      • North America
        • Middle America
          • Central America
  • Time zone: Central Standard Time (UTC-06)
  • Extreme points of Belize
    • High: Doyle's Delight 1,124 m (3,688 ft)
    • Low: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  • Land boundaries: 516 km

 Guatemala 266 km

 Mexico 250 km

• Coastline: 386 km

• Population of Belize: 301,270(2008) - 174th most populous country
• Area of Belize: 22,966 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) - 150th largest country
• Atlas of Belize

Environment of Belize

An enlargeable satellite image of Belize

Main article: Environment of Belize

• Climate of Belize
• Environmental issues in Belize
• Ecoregions in Belize
• Renewable energy in Belize
• Geology of Belize
• Protected areas of Belize
  • Biosphere reserves in Belize
  • National parks of Belize
• Wildlife of Belize
  • Flora of Belize
  • Fauna of Belize
    • Birds of Belize
    • Mammals of Belize

Natural geographic features of Belize

Main article: Landforms of Belize

• Fjords of Belize
• Glaciers of Belize
• Islands of Belize
• Lakes of Belize
• Mountains of Belize
  • Volcanoes in Belize
• Rivers of Belize
  • Waterfalls of Belize
• Valleys of Belize
• World Heritage Sites in Belize

Regions of Belize

Main article: Regions of Belize

Ecoregions of Belize

Main article: Ecoregions in Belize

Administrative divisions of Belize

Main article: Administrative divisions of Belize

• Districts of Belize
  • Constituencies of Belize

Districts of Belize

Main article: Districts of Belize

• Belize
• Cayo
• Corozal
• Orange Walk
• Stann Creek
• Toledo

Constituencies of Belize

The constituencies of Belize by District:

• Belize District:
  • Albert
  • Belize Rural Central
  • Belize Rural North
  • Belize Rural South
  • Caribbean Shores
  • Collet
  • Fort George
  • Freetown
  • Lake Independence
  • Mesopotamia
  • Pickstock
  • Port Loyola
  • Queen's Square

• Cayo District
  • Belmopan
  • Cayo Central
  • Cayo North
  • Cayo North East
  • Cayo South
  • Cayo West

• Corozal District
  • Corozal Bay
  • Corozal North
  • Corozal South East
  • Corozal South West

• Orange Walk District
  • Orange Walk Central
  • Orange Walk East
  • Orange Walk North
  • Orange Walk South

• Stann Creek District
  • Dangriga
  • Stann Creek West

• Toledo District
  • Toledo East
  • Toledo West

Municipalities of Belize

• Capital: Belmopan
• Cities: Cities of Belize

Demography of Belize

Main article: Demographics of Belize

Government and politics of Belize

Main article: Government of Belize and Politics of Belize

• Form of government: parliamentary representative democratic monarchy
• Capital of Belize: Belmopan

• Elections in Belize
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Belize
• Political scandals of Belize
• Taxation in Belize

Branches of government

Main article: Government of Belize

Executive branch of the government of Belize

• Head of state: Monarch of Belize, Elizabeth II
  • Her Majesty's representative: Governor-General of Belize, Colville Young
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow
• Cabinet of Belize

Legislative branch of the government of Belize

• National Assembly of Belize (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Senate of Belize
  • Lower house: House of Representatives of Belize

Judicial branch of the government of Belize

Main article: Court system of Belize

• Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
  • Supreme Court of Belize
    • Magistrates' Court of Belize

Foreign relations of Belize

Main article: Foreign relations of Belize

• Diplomatic missions in Belize
• Diplomatic missions of Belize

International organization membership

Belize is a member of:^[1]

African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Central American Integration System (SICA) Commonwealth of Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of 77 (G77) Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Court (ICCt) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM)

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Latin American Economic System (LAES) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Nonaligned Movement (NAM) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Rio Group (RG) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Confederation of Labour (WCL) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Trade Organization (WTO)

Law and order in Belize

Main article: Law of Belize

• Capital punishment in Belize
• Constitution of Belize
• Crime in Belize
• Human rights in Belize
  • LGBT rights in Belize
  • Freedom of religion in Belize
• Law enforcement in Belize

Military of Belize

Main article: Military of Belize

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    • Ministry of Defence of Belize
• Forces
  • Army of Belize
  • Navy of Belize
  • Air Force of Belize
  • Special forces of Belize
• Military history of Belize
• Military ranks of Belize

Local government in Belize

Main article: Local government in Belize

History of Belize

Main article: History of Belize, Timeline of the history of Belize, and Current events of Belize

• Economic history of Belize
• Military history of Belize

Culture of Belize

Main article: Culture of Belize

• Architecture of Belize
• Cuisine of Belize
• Ethnic minorities in Belize
• Festivals in Belize
• Humor in Belize
• Languages of Belize
• Media in Belize
• National symbols of Belize
  • Coat of arms of Belize
  • Flag of Belize
  • National Anthem: "Land of the Free"
• People of Belize
• Prostitution in Belize
• Public holidays in Belize
• Records of Belize
• Religion in Belize
  • Buddhism in Belize
  • Christianity in Belize
  • Hinduism in Belize
  • Islam in Belize
  • Judaism in Belize
  • Sikhism in Belize
• World Heritage Sites in Belize

Art in Belize

• Art in Belize
• Cinema of Belize
• Literature of Belize
• Music of Belize
• Television in Belize
• Theatre in Belize

Sports in Belize

Main article: Sports in Belize

• Football in Belize
• Belize at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Belize

Main article: Economy of Belize

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 163rd (one hundred and sixty third)

• Agriculture in Belize
• Banking in Belize
  • National Bank of Belize
• Communications in Belize
  • Internet in Belize
• Companies of Belize

• Currency of Belize: Dollar
  • ISO 4217: BZD

• Economic history of Belize
• Energy in Belize
  • Energy policy of Belize
  • Oil industry in Belize
• Mining in Belize
• Tourism in Belize
• Transport in Belize

• Belize Stock Exchange

Education in Belize

Main article: Education in Belize

Infrastructure of Belize

• Health care in Belize
• Transportation in Belize
  • Airports in Belize
  • Rail transport in Belize
  • Roads in Belize
• Water supply and sanitation in Belize

See also

	North America portal
	Commonwealth realms portal

Main article: Belize

• All pages beginning with "Belize"
• All pages beginning with "Belizean"
• All pages with titles containing "Belize"
• All pages with titles containing "Belizean"
• Commonwealth realm
• Index of Belize-related articles
• List of Belize-related topics
• List of international rankings
• Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Member state of the United Nations
• Monarchy of Belize
• Outline of Central America
• Outline of geography
• Outline of North America

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Belize". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bh.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Belize

• Government of Belize - Official governmental site
• Belize National Emergency Management Organization - Official governmental site
• Belize Tourism Board - Official Tourism site
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Belize's Country Page
• Belize information on globalEDGE
• Belize entry at The World Factbook
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