Background:
Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their
decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and
Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it
formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial
disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of
Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation
until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current
concerns include high unemployment, growing involvement in the South
American drug trade, and increasing urban crime.
Geography Belize
Location:
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and
Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
17 15 N, 88 45 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total: 516 km border countries: 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 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
negotiating a definitive agreement on territorial differences with
Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm