Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
_#_Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
_#_Land use: arable land 19%; permanent crops 6%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 28%; other 29%; includes irrigated 3%
_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November); deforestation; water pollution
_#_Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
_*People #_Population: 2,489,353 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)