ver) totaling 269,932
GRT/379,271 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 26, container 3, petroleum
tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, includes s foreign-owned ship registered
here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 5 (2002 est.)

Airports: 18 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047
m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under
914 m: 2 (2001)

Military Bangladesh

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, paramilitary
forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense
Parties, Armed Police Battalions, National Cadet Corps)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 37,303,372 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 22,139,736
(2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $559 million (FY96/97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.8% (FY96/97)

Transnational Issues Bangladesh

Disputes - international: only a small portion of the boundary with India
remains undelimited; discussions to demarcate the boundary, exchange
162 miniscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages remain stalled;
skirmishes, illegal border trafficking, and violence along the border
continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high
traffic sections of the porous boundary; Burmese attempts to construct
a dam on the border stream in 2001 prompted an armed response halting
construction; Burmese Muslim refugees migrate into Bangladesh straining
meager resources

Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring
countries

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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Belize

Introduction

Belize

Background: Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the
independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala
refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the
mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment,
growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increased
urban crime.

Geography Belize

Location: Middle 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