elegraph facilities
local: NA
intercity: extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay
network; nationwide mobile phone system
international: 5 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations and 1 EUTELSAT earth station

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 39, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 32
televisions: NA

@Belgium:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,559,077; males fit for
military service 2,126,875; males reach military age (19) annually
61,488 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.9 billion, 1.8% of
GDP (1994)

________________________________________________________________________

BELIZE

@Belize:Geography

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

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total area: 22,960 sq km
land area: 22,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts

Land boundaries: total 516 km, Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km

Coastline: 386 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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 miles; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the
purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the
negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with
Guatemala

International disputes: border with Guatemala in dispute; talks to
resolve the dispute are stalled

Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)

Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 2%
forest and woodland: 44%
other: 52%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial
effluents, agricultural runoff
natural hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to
December) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan
because