Belize borders Mexico on the north, Guatemala on the west, and the Caribbean Sea on the east, with an area of 22,960 square kilometers (8,867 square miles). As of 2003, it had 266,440 inhabitants of diverse ethnicities. Its sociocultural characteristics are more like those of an English-speaking island in the Caribbean rather than those of any of its neighbors in Latin America. Tropical forests are the predominant vegetation in Belize's hot and humid climate; the landscape is flat in the north and a low range of mountains exists in the south.

According to a 2001 estimate, the economy depended on service industries (representing 58% of the gross domestic product [GDP]), agriculture (18%), and other small industries (24%). In 2003 there was some diversification, with tourism and shrimp farming taking on a share of the GDP. As of 2002, the GDP per capita was U.S.$4,900. One 1999 study reported that 33 percent of the population had an income below the...