The population of Belize in 2017 was 387,000 people, with the majority of the population living in rural areas. The economy of Belize is heavily reliant on tourism and agriculture, with a GDP of $3 billion and a low per capita income. Belize is a member of the United Nations, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Commonwealth of Nations, and has close ties to many countries throughout Central America as well as the United States. In terms of politics, Belize is a parliamentary democracy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. The Prime Minister is Dean Barrow who leads the United Democratic Party which has been in power since 2008. See militarynous for Belize military and defense.
Yearbook 2017
Belize. In August, the Guatemalan Congress ratified an agreement to hold a referendum on the border dispute with Belize. According to Countryaah.com, the referendum applies whether the matter is to be decided by the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ), according to an agreement between the countries from 2008. In that case, the referendum would pave the way for a diplomatic and peaceful solution of the infected border issue, which complicated relations between the countries ever since Belize’s independence in 1981. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for frequently used acronyms and abbreviations related to as well as country profile of Belize.
In September, state oil company ALBA Petrocaribe Belize Energy (APBEL) decided to stop buying oil from Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. The reason was stated to be PDVSA’s problem, in light of Venezuela’s own financial problems, to supply contracted amounts of oil within the framework of the Caribbean cooperation program Petrocaribe from 2009.
