About Belize

- Population: 339 000 inhabitants.

- Area: 22,970 sq. km.

- Capital: Belmopan.

- Languages: English (official), Creole, Spanish, Mayan languages (Kekchi and Mopan), Garifuna.

- Currency: Belize dollar.

- State: constitutional monarchy, parliamentary government.

- Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II

- Prime Minister: Dean O. Barrow.

- UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ecosystem Reserve SystemBarrier Reef coral, Barrier Reef Reserve System (inscribed in1996). Moved the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2009.

Economy

The country lives mainly on agriculture (oranges, bananas, sugar cane), tourism and, more recently, oil (found in westerncountries). Large international firms for years have drawn their raw materials, such as Hershey, operator of cocoa, and Coca-Cola for citrus.

The industry is virtually nonexistent. The two largest plants are the country's sugar refinery near Orange Walk and citrus processingplant near Belmopan.

Apart from tourism, which brings most of the currencies with about 200,000 tourists a year (18% of GDP), the economysurvives thanks to the support of the European Union (the largest donor), the United States and Canada. And also thanks to money sent by emigrants Belizeans in the United States.