Overview:
This small private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central
geographic location, highly developed transport network, and
diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated
mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the
government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of
Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import substantial
quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures,
making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets.
Three fourths of its trade is with other EC countries. The economy
grew at a strong 4% pace during the period 1988-90, but economic
growth slowed to a 1% pace in 1991-92 and dropped by 1.5% in 1993.
Belgium's public debt has risen to 140% of GDP, and the government is
trying to control its expenditures to bring the figure more into line
with other industrialized countries.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $177.5 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
-1.5% (1993)
National product per capita:
$17,700 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
13.5% (March 1994)
Budget:
revenues:
$97.8 billion
enditures:
$109.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports:
7 billion (f.o.b., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities:
iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds,
petroleum products
partners:
EC 75.5%, US 3.7%, former Communist countries 1.4% (1991)
Imports:
$120 billion (c.i.f., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities:
fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs
partners:
EC 73%, US 4.8%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, former
Communist countries 1.8% (1991)
External debt:
$31.3 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -0.1% (1993 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
17,500,000 kW
production:
68 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
6,790 kWh (1992)
Industries:
engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food
and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum,
coal
Agriculture:
accounts for 2.0% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production - beef,
veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables,
fruits, grain, tobacco; net importer of farm products
Illicit drugs:
source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors;
important gateway country for cocaine entering the European market
Economic aid:
donor:
ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
Currency:
1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Belgian francs (BF) per US$1 - 36.242 (January 1994), 34.597 (1993),
32.150 (1992), 34.148 (1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Belgium, Communications
Railroads:
Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,568 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 2,207 km
electrified
Highways:
total:
137,876 km
paved:
129,603 km (including 1,631 km of limited access divided highway)
unpaved:
8,273 km (1989)
Inland waterways:
2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
Pipelines:
crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural gas 3,300 km
Ports:
Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge
Merchant marine:
21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 36,200 GRT/52,039 DWT, bulk 1,
cargo 9, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 5
Airports:
total:
42
usable:
42
with permanent-surface runways:
24
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
15
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
3
Telecommunications:
highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated
domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities;
extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network;
4,720,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 39 FM, 32 TV; 5
submarine cables; 2 satellite earth stations - Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
and EUTELSAT systems; nationwide mobile phone system
@Belgium, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 2,558,109; fit for military service 2,130,172; reach
military age (19) annually 61,710 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1993)
@Belize, Geography
Location:
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea between Guatemala and
Mexico
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones
of the World
Area:
total area:
22,960 sq km
land area:
22,800 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
total 516 km, Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Coastline:
386 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south
note:
from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's
territorial sea is 3 miles; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences
with Guatemala
International disputes:
maritime border with Guatemala in dispute; desultory negotiations to
resolve the dispute have begun
Climate:
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)
Terrain:
flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Natural resources:
arable land potential, timber, fish
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
2%
forest and woodland:
44%
other:
52%
Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents,
agricultural runoff
natural hazards:
frequent devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal
flooding (especially in south)
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Climate Change
Note:
national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan
because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a
coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
@Belize, People
Population:
208,949 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.42% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
34.74 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-4.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
35.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.08 years
male:
66.14 years
female:
70.12 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.39 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Belizean(s)
adjective:
Belizean
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 44%, Creole 30%, Maya 11%, Garifuna 7%, other 8%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%,
Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's
Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980)
Languages:
English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
Literacy:
age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)
total population:
91%
male:
91%
female:
91%
Labor force:
51,500
by occupation:
agriculture 30%, services 16%, government 15.4%, commerce 11.2%,
manufacturing 10.3%
note:
shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
@Belize, Government