, Yemen 1

Airports:
43 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)

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

Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer
of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering
activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Benin

Introduction Benin

Background:
Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African
kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French
Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the
Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in
1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment
of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to
representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free
elections ushered in former Prime M