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... until in the late 1980 's. Preventative health programs and provision of potable water have greatly reduced infant mortality since the 1950 's. The official infant mortality rate of 24. 8 per 1, 000 is tied with Costa Rica for the lowest in Central America, although actual rates are probably higher due to under reporting in rural areas.
By the 1970 's, Belize had eradicated malaria and dengue fever, but both diseases made a major resurgence in the following decade. By law, education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14, although access to schooling in remote rural areas is limited. Elementary schools are funded by the state but most are run by churches. All of the towns are served by secondary schools. The University College of Belize, the country's first four year undergraduate institution, was inaugurated in Belize City in 1986. Though literacy rates are high by Central American standards, they have been falling due to immigration and to declining school attendance that is often the result of drug abuse and gang membership.
Crime in Belize includes being a transshipment point for cocaine, an illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade, and a minor money-laundering center. Ask people on the street in Belize City where to sell black-market dollars and, chances are, they will send you to East Indian merchants. If a central bank is unable, or otherwise unwilling, to meet all the demand for foreign exchange at its official exchange rate, those whose demand is frustrated will be prepared to offer a price above the official rate, as long as the risks and costs of evading the exchange control regulations are not prohibitive. According to a U. S.
State Department advisory, crimes against tourists in Belize resorts are rare. They stand out in any Belizean crowd: blond, blue-eyed men in denim overalls and cowboy hats, their skin glowing an almost albino pink; severe women whose outfits - ankle length, long-sleeved frocks and wide-brimmed hats tied down with black - seem in outright defiance of the tropical heat. Polite and reserved, they hang back from the general hubbub, talking quietly amongst themselves. If you should overhear the language is not Spanish, English, or Creole, but guttural German. The Mennonite settlers of Belize are part of a resilient religious sect that traces its roots back to l 6 th century Netherlands.
Starting off as an obscure Anabaptist group during the Reformation, they took their name from a Dutch priest Menno Simons. Like the Amish of Pennsylvania, to whom they are distantly connected, Mennonites seek to exist in isolated farming communities without modern. They reject state interference in their affairs and are committed pacifists. In Belize, the Creole people are the products of centuries of interbreeding between the British colonizers and their West African slaves. The language, Belize Creole, is the linguistic result of this meeting of north and south: English (including many English and Scottish-regional dialects) blended with the diverse language groups of West Africa. Belize Creoles nearest relative is Jamaican Creole, also based on English, although the two are quite different.
Adding to the Belizean mixture are words from Spanish (goma for a hangover, for example) and others from the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua (kong for a housefly, amongst others). With so many holidays on the Belizean calendar, it is not hard for visitors to find some type of music or celebration during their stay - especially if you are passing through in September. This is when Belizean's are at their most patriotic and spirited, celebrating St. Georges Caye Day on the 10 th - marking the victory of the British Baymen and their slaves over Spanish invaders in 1798 - and, on 21 September, Independence Day. Weeks on either side of these dates are filled with activities. Banners with patriotic slogans, red, blue, and white streamers and twinkling lights festoon the streets, which are crowded with the Queen of the Bay beauty pageant, bicycle races, concerts, military displays, etc.
Music, both old and new, plays a vital role in the celebrations. You will never find Belizean's sitting politely through a concert or throwing a party without dancing. In Belize, music of any kind is an irresistible invitation to move, and any social event without a live band, or at least a disc jockey is hardly worth attending. While some radio stations and nightclubs do play American pop and country music, more often you will hear Caribbean reggae, soca, and dance hall.
There is also a healthy appetite for Latin American ballads and salsa beats. For Belizean's, eating is a communal act. There is no such thing as a diet in Belize: denying oneself food means rejecting good intentions of others and the years tradition behind every dish. Food is to be shared - if an old woman has only one Creole bun she will gladly give you half, and plates of dinner appear from all directions whenever someone is ill or falls on hard times.
Waste is considered a sin and so is refusing a stranger a glass of water if he or she asks at your door. Despite this enthusiasm, Belizean cuisine can be mystifying to visitors. The country has an abundance of fresh fruit, meat and fish, yet there is a peculiar fondness for tinned foods imported from Europe. This may be the legacy of Belize's years as a British colonial outpost, or a taste acquired during the days of famine following this century's two major hurricanes.
Whatever the case, many Belizean families would be at a loss without their salad cream, tinned luncheon meat, and condensed milk. Since 1976, Belizean banks have bought U. S. dollars at the rate of 2. 0175 and sold them at 1. 9825, making for an effective fixed rate of Belize $ 2 = U. S. $ 1. The Belize Dollar (BZ$) has a fixed rate of exchange of BZ$ 2 to US$ 1.
Most hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tour operators will accept U. S. currency, traveler's checks, or credit cards. When using your credit cards in Belize, most establishments will add a 5 % service charge to your bill. Always make sure that you understand which dollar rate is being quoted. Is it Belize Dollars or U.
S. Dollars? Postal rates to the United States are BZ $ 0. 60 for letters and BZ $ 0. 30 for postcards. The fiscal year for Belize is April 1 st through March 31 st. Time observed year round is GMT- 6, which is the same as United States Central Standard Time. Daylight Savings Time is not observed in Belize.
The work force consists of 30 % agriculture, 16 % services, 15. 4 % government, 11. 2 % commerce, and 10. 3 % manufacturing. Telecommunications for Belize includes 8, 650 telephones, which is an above-average system based on microwave radio relay, broadcast stations include six AM, five FM, one TV, one short-wave and one Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station. Forestry was the only economic activity of any consequence in Belize until well into the 20 th century, when the supply of accessible timber began to dwindle. Sugar then became the principal export and recently has been augmented by expanded production of citrus, bananas, seafood, and apparel. The country has about 809, 000 hectares of arable land, of which only a small fraction is under cultivation. To curb land speculation and promote agriculture, the government enacted legislation in 1973 that requires non-Belizean's to complete a development plan on land they purchase before obtaining title to plots of more than 10 acres of rural land or more than one-half acre of urban land.
Domestic industry is limited, constrained by relatively high cost labor and energy and a small domestic market. Tourism, though, is a booming industry. Development costs are high, but the Government of Belize has designated tourism as its second development priority after agriculture. Visitors totaled 260, 056 in 1993; the tourist industry is worth $ 50 million per year. Government policy is to reserve tourism development, which is less capital intensive for Belizean's, but it welcomes foreign investor interest in larger projects. Belize's well established policy of encouraging new foreign investment has been an important factor in attracting capital.
Promising opportunities for growth and investment include citrus, bananas, beef, aquaculture, tropical fruits, forest, tourism, forest products, and apparel. Belize is one of only two Central American countries that share a land border with Mexico, which is a member of NAFTA; this may help future efforts to attract foreign investment. The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program aims to help Belize plan the best use of its resources in agriculture, forestry including tropical forestry and biodiversity protection and tourism. It includes technical assistance and training in these areas to help the Government of Belize manage agriculture and tourism growth in a rational and ecologically sound manner.
Economic growth in Belize is constrained by a lack of infrastructure. Electric service is expensive and unavailable in some rural areas. No roads exist to large tracts of potentially arable land and timber. Some roads, including sections of major highways, are subject to damage or closure during the rainy season. Inadequate roads and ports limit external marketing, although expansion of port handling facilities has been undertaken in Belize City, and a new deep-water port has been completed in Big Creek to complement facilities in Belize City and Commerce Bight. Barges and lighters are used for sugar, bananas, and other shipments.
The government recognizes the need to develop the country. Much of the government's operating expenses are derived from customs duties and taxes, but most of the capital expenses are met through foreign assistance. The Government of Belize, U. S.
assistance projects, and other donors are working to improve the country's infrastructure. USAID, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom have projects to upgrade the quality of the Belizean road system. The highways in Belize total approximately 2, 710 km, which amounts to 500 km of paved, 600 km of unpaved gravel, 300 km of improved earth and 310 km of unimproved earth. Steel and concrete bridges are being constructed to ensure year-round passage to remote portions of the country. Rural electrification is moving forward, with the construction of a multimillion-dollar hydroelectric project by an American firm, and urban electric power is becoming more dependable. In Belize, inland waterways equal 825 km of a river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable.
Though Corozol, Punta Gorda, and Big Creek ports are mostly used for shallow draught crafts, Belize City is also a port of call. The airports total 46 in all. Only 38 are usable, but there are only 3 with permanent-surface runways. Under aid agreements with the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Development Bank, a new international airport terminal has been built and the runway lengthened.
A new water and sewer system has been completed in Belize City with the help of the Canadian International Development Agency, and construction of a new 100 -bed hospital for Belize City was recently completed with EU assistance. Belize's economic performance is highly susceptible to external market change. Although outstanding growth has been achieved in recent years, the successes are vulnerable to world commodity price fluctuations and the continuation of trade preferences. Belize aims to stimulate the growth of commercial agriculture through the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). However, Belizean trade with the rest of the Caribbean is limited compared to that with the United States and Europe. The country is a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), a U.
S. Government program to stimulate investment in Caribbean nations by providing duty-free access to the U. S. market for most Caribbean products.
Significant U. S. private investments in citrus and shrimp farms have been made in Belize under CBI. U. S. trade preferences allowing for duty-free re-import of finished apparel cut from U.
S. textiles have significantly expanded the apparel industry. The EU and U. K. s preferences also have been vital for the expansion and prosperity of the sugar and banana industries.
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Research essay sample on U S Dollars Infant Mortality
