Military Belize
Military branches:
Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and
Volunteer Guard)
Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription has never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available positions by 3:1 (2001)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 68,518 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 40,619 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 3,122 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$18 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2% (2003)
Transnational Issues Belize
Disputes - international:
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle along the border region; an
OAS brokered Differendum in 2002 created a small adjustment to the
land boundary, a large Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, a
joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and a substantial
US-UK financial package, but agreement was not brought to popular
referendum leaving Guatemala to continue to claim the southern half
of Belize