BELIZE

Official name: BELIZE 

Date of membership: 6 March1992 

Capital: Belmopan 

Government 

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo. 

Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK) 

Constitution: 21 September 1981 

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal 

Executive branch: Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993). Head of government: Prime Minister Dean O. Barrow (since 8 February 2008). 

Legislative branch: Bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - six on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms). 

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) 

Internet code: .bz 

Official Web Portal: http://www.belize.gov.bz/

Geography

Location: Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico. 

Area: 22,966 sq km 

Land boundaries: 516 km 

Border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km 

Coastline: 386 km 

Natural resources: Arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower 

Environment - international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection.

Economic indicators