Acclimatization: How long does it take the typical expat to acclimatize to Belize? The answer varies from immediately to never. In terms of the weather, it usually takes new residents about six months to get used to the warm, humid sub-tropical climate, assuming they didn’t come from a similar climate. Belize is superficially similar to the U.S. in many ways – from the use of English in official documents to the same standards of measurement – miles, feet, gallons and ounces rather than kilometers, meters, liters and milliliters. You drive on the right and cable TV offers HBO, CNN and other U.S. channels. But, below the surface, the differences are more subtle and significant.

Bargaining: In general, prices in Belize stores are fixed, and there is no bargaining. At street markets, you may do some light bargaining, but haggling is not a way of life in Belize as it is some other parts of the world. Hotels and other tourist services may offer discounts – it never hurts to ask. Of course, when buying real estate, bargaining is the order of the day in Belize as most everywhere.

Business Hours: Most businesses open around 8 a.m. and close at 5 or 6 p.m. on weekdays. Some close for lunch, usually from 1 to 2 p.m. Most stores are open on Saturday, or at least on Saturday mornings. On Sundays, most stores and other businesses are closed, except in tourist areas like San Pedro. Banks typically are open until 1 p.m. Monday to Thursday and until 4 or 5 on Friday.

Capital: Belmopan, a small town in the central part of the country, is Belize’s capital and home to many government offices. The capital was moved from Belize City following the terrific destruction and loss of life caused by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. However, Belize City remains the cultural, social and commercial hub of the country, and many government offices remain in Belize’s only sizeable city.

Churches and Religion: Although Belize was a British colony, the Catholic Church, not the Anglican Church, is dominant in Belize. About one-half of Belizeans are Catholic; Anglicans represent about 6% of the population. Other religious groups in Belize include Methodist, Church of Christ, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Assembly of God and Seventh Day Adventist. Belize has one Muslim mosque. There is no temple, but Jews meet in local homes in Belize City.

Climate: Belize has a sub-tropical climate similar to that of South Florida. Frost-free Belize usually enjoys lows in the 60s to 70s, with highs in the 80s to low 90s. More rain falls as you go south, with average annual rainfall in the north being about 50 inches, similar to Atlanta, Georgia, but increasing to 160 inches or more in the far south. Generally the rainiest months are June through October (though in 2003 November was the rainiest month in most of the country), with the driest months being February through April. January sees the coolest temperatures of the year, while May has the hottest. In general, daytime temps are higher inland, due to the influence of prevailing winds from the sea on the cayes and coast. The humidity is high year-round in all parts of the country.

Drugs: Despite its reputation as a source of marijuana and, more recently, as a transshipment point for cocaine and other drugs from South America, Belize has strict laws on the use of illegal drugs, with prison terms and fines for offenders. Quite a few Belizeans smoke marijuana, some fairly openly, but it is illegal. However, the police say they do not arrest marijuana users found only with small amounts.  Unfortunately, crack, heroin and other hard drugs are a fact of life in Belize, as they are in many countries. Much of the crime in Belize City and in other parts of the country is related to drugs.

Economy: Belize’s Gross Domestic Product in 2002 was US$1.28 billion, or US$4,812 per capita. GDP growth was 6.5% in 1999, 10.8% in 2000, 4.6% in 2001, and 3.7% in 2002. By comparison, per-capita GDP in the U.S. in 2002 was US$37,600. Per-capita income in Belize is about one-eighth that in the U.S. The entire Belize economy is about the size of the economy of a small U.S. town of 25,000 to 30,000 people.

Tourism and agriculture are the two major industries, each representing about one-fifth of GDP. Due to recent growth, tourism is now slightly larger. Ambergris Caye, Cayo and Placencia are the major areas developed for tourism. Belize gets about 200,000 international visitors a year, with 70% coming from the U.S. These figures do not include regional travel through Belize’s land borders, the vast majority of which involves short-term visits for business, shopping or family reasons, and it does not include the more than 400,000 annual day visitors on cruise ships which call on Belize City.

The main agricultural crops are sugar cane, citrus, marine products and bananas. Aquaculture, mainly shrimp farming, is growing in importance.

Belize has a labor force of around 90,000. The official unemployment rate in 2002 was around 9%, but in many rural areas of Belize it is much higher. Even so, there is a shortage of skilled workers in many areas.

Inflation in Belize has been low in recent years; it was under 2% in 2002. However, the government has been running a large trade deficit in recent years – it totaled US$140 million in 2002 — and external debt, now over US$600 million, is high given the small size of the Belizean economy.

Education: Belize’s education system is a joint effort of religious organizations, primarily the Catholic Church, and the Belize government. It is based in many ways on the British system.

Primary education is free and compulsory through age 14. However, a sizeable minority of Belizean children do not complete primary school. Only about 60 percent of teachers are professionally traine, though the number if growing. Secondary education, consisting of a four-year high school, is competitive, requiring passage of a comprehensive exam. The student’s percentile ranking on the admissions test in part determines which school the student can attend. Charges for books and fees at secondary schools are beyond the reach of many Belizean families. About three-fourths of primary school students do go on to secondary schools, though not all graduate.

Public schools vary, being generally best in Corozal and Belize City, worst in the far south, where schools often are crowded and lack basic text books and other supplies. In villages and rural areas schools are usually small concrete buildings with open windows and a pump for water. Some expats choose to do home schooling. Private schools are available in a few areas. The Island Academy on Ambergris Caye, as an example, charges US$250 per month per student.

The “sixth form” in Belize, again patterned after the British system, is a two-year, post high school program at such schools as St. John’s in Belize City or Muffles in Orange Walk Town. Only in the last few years has a four-year degree program been available in Belize. The University of Belize, established in 2000 as an umbrella system for a number of Belize colleges, offers baccalaureate degrees in nursing, engineering, business and other subjects on campuses in Belmopan, Belize City and elsewhere. The University of Belize also offers Masters in Business Administration degrees and a few other graduate degrees. Many Belizeans go to college in the U.S., Guatemala or England. Unfortunately, too few of these students return to work in Belize.

By American and Canadian standards, community college and four-year college tuition rates are extremely affordable in Belize. Tuition is rarely more than US$250 per semester. At the University of Belize, tuition is US$10 per credit hour for associate degree students and US$45 for four-year-degree students. Generally expats can attend schools and colleges in Belize, paying the same rates as Belizeans.

Belize has also developed a small industry as the home to offshore med schools, small medical schools for students who cannot gain admission to highly competitive U.S. medical programs. Currently there are four offshore med schools in Belize.

Electricity: 110 volts AC/60 cycles, same as in the U.S., and outlets are like those in the U.S. and Canada. However, electricity is at least twice as expensive in Belize as in the U.S., at around 21 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.

Embassies: The U.S. Embassy currently is in Belize City, but a new US$50 million embassy is under construction in Belmopan. George W. Bush's former Yale roommate,  Rob Dieter, a law professor at the University of Colorado, has been named the new ambassador.  He is awaiting confirmation.  Russell Freeman, a Fargo, N.D., lawyer and fundraiser for George W. Bush, was the ambassador until early 2005. The embassy’s number is 501-227-7161. Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Taiwan and about a dozen other countries have ambassadors or other representatives either in Belize City or Belmopan.

Family Life: With so many different ethnic groups in Belize, you can’t generalize about family life. However, as in many countries, Belize faces social problems relating to the disintegration of traditional family life. Especially in Belize City and other urbanized areas, a large percentage of babies are born out of wedlock and the traditional nuclear family is becoming less the norm.

Government: Formerly a British colony, and known as British Honduras from 1862 to 1973, Belize became independent from Britain in 1981. It is now a democratic member of the British Commonwealth, with a Westminster-style government system with a prime minister, an elected house of representatives and an appointed senate. The current prime minister is Said Musa, a British-educated lawyer of Palestinian and Belizean heritage. He heads the People’s United Party, which swept national elections in 1998 and again won national elections in 2002. The opposition party is the United Democratic Party. Both parties are generally centrist. The “George Washington of Belize” is George Cadle Price, an ascetic Creole who helped found the PUP and was Belize’s first prime minister. Politics in Belize is a freewheeling affair and often intensely personal. Belize has strong ties with the United States and Britain, but it also has cultivated ties with Taiwan, Cuba, Japan, Mexico and other countries, often out of the need to seek foreign aid or development funding.

History: The human history of Belize can be divided into four broad periods: the ancient Maya period, the Spanish conquest, the British colonial period and modern Belize.

The ancient Maya, whose ancestors likely came originally from Asia, settled in what is now Mexico at least two thousand years before the birth of Christ. The Maya civilization was influenced by and grew out of the Olmec culture farther north. The Maya migrated to what is now Belize about 3,000 years ago. During the height of the Maya empire, called the Classic Period, roughly 300 BC to 900 AD, the area that is now Belize had a civilization that included large-scale agriculture, sizeable cities of up to several hundred thousand people, formalized religion and a sophisticated knowledge of architecture, art, science and mathematics. As many as a million people lived in Belize during the late Classic period, compared to about one-fourth that number today. Caracol likely was the largest city-state in Belize, with a population several times larger than that of Belize City today.

Then, rather quickly, in a matter of at most a few hundred years, most of the great Maya cities were depopulated and the Maya civilization went into decline. There are many theories as to why this happened, among them that there was a change in weather patterns that disrupted agricultural, that epidemic diseases swept the region, or that social changes – perhaps revolutions – transformed the society. It could have been a combination of reasons.

Whatever the reasons, by around 1000 AD most of the major cities in Belize had been at least partially abandoned, though a few settlements, such as Lamanai in northern Belize, lasted for many more centuries.

The Spanish Conquest of Mexico and Central America began in the first quarter of the 16th Century. Spanish troops and missionaries destroyed much of what was left of the Maya civilization, including burning nearly all of the Maya books they found. Soldiers killed many, and the European diseases they brought such as smallpox killed even more.

Belize offered little to the Spanish in the way of gold or other riches, so Spain never paid much attention to it. Escaping Spanish domination in Mexico and Guatemala, Mayas sought refuge in Belize.

By the early 17th Century, Belize drew the attention of a motley group of British loggers and adventurers. The original Brits in Belize sought logwood, a valuable hardwood used to make dyes. These Brits also did a little buccaneering on the side. One of the most fearsome was Edward Teach, called Blackbeard for his huge black beard. According to legend, Blackbeard used Ambergris Caye for his hideout, continuing to terrorize ships of all nations, until he was finally killed off the coast of North Carolina.

By around 1700, several hundred British loggers and hangers-on had settled around the mouth of the Belize River, near the bay of what is now Belize City. The Brits were known as Baymen. British logging settlements grew over the course of the next 100 years or so, The loggers imported slaves from Jamaica to help cut logwood and mahogany. There was continuing conflict between the British and the Spanish. Finally, in early September 1798, a Spanish fleet of 32 ships with about 2,000 men came to settle the score and wipe out the British once and for all. But it didn’t work out that way. A ragtag band of Baymen assisted by a Royal Navy battleship, on September 10, 1798, defeated the larger Spanish force in the Battle of St. George’s Caye. That event helped end Spain’s claims to Belize once and for all and is now celebrated as National Day. Spain acknowledged British sovereignty in Belize in the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.

Thus began the British era in Belize, which lasted until the mid-20th Century. British Honduras, as it was then known, officially became a British colony in 1862, at the time of the U.S. Civil War. Following the Civil War, about 1,500 Confederate supporters came to British Honduras and established the town of New Richmond.

Much of the British period was marked by the traditional colonial approach of exploiting the natural resources of the colony. Though slavery was abolished in Belize in 1838, two decades before it was abolished in the United States, English and Scotch companies employing hard-working Belizean blacks continued to log the native forests, exporting the timber back to Europe.

During this time, Belize began to become a melting pot of races and ethnic backgrounds. The old Baymen families, with names like Usher and Fairweather, married former slaves, creating a kind of provincial Creole aristocracy in Belize City. Some Mayas, fleeing the Caste Wars of mid-19th Century Mexico, intermarried with the Spanish, and were then called Mestizos. Hundreds of Garifuna from Honduras, with African and Caribbean Indian heritage, settled in southern Belize.

As the 20th Century dawned, British Honduras was a sleepy backwater of the British Empire. But underneath the sleepiness, things were stirring. Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey helped raised black consciousness in Belize, as he did elsewhere in the Caribbean. The worldwide Great Depression and a terrible hurricane in 1931, which killed almost 2,000 people in and around Belize City, both had a great impact on Belize.

The end of World War II sparked anti-colonial feelings, and the first major political movements favoring independence from Britain arose. Of these, the People’s United Party (PUP) under George Price, a Creole educated at St. John’s College in Belize City, was the most important. In 1954, a new constitution for the colony was introduced, for the first time giving all literate adults the right to vote (until then only about 3 in 100 Belizeans were allowed to vote.) In 1964, George Price negotiated a new constitution, which granted British Honduras full internal self-government, although it remained a British colony. In 1973, the country’s name officially was changed to Belize. On September 21, 1981, Belize became an independent nation, with George Price as prime minister.

Small by international standards, unpopulated and undeveloped, modern Belize has struggled to create a viable economy and infrastructure. The country several times faced off with Guatemala, which has long maintained that Belize was simply a province of Guatemala. It was not until 1991 that Guatemala finally recognized Belize as a sovereign state, although even up until today populist flag-wavers in Guatemala occasionally threaten to invade Belice (as it is known in Spanish).

In the 20th Century, agriculture, especially citrus, bananas and sugar, replaced logging as the country’s main industry. More recently, tourism has supplanted agriculture as the primary industry.

Democracy found fertile roots in Belize, and the little country has a dynamic two-party system. The United Democratic Party (UDP), under the former school teacher Manuel Esquivel, first defeated the PUP in the 1984 national elections, and again in 1993, but the PUP regained power in 1998 and has held it ever since. The current PUP prime minister is Said Musa, a lawyer educated in England.

Important Dates in Belize History
300 BC to 900 AD Classic Maya period, when what is now Belize was the heart of the
Maya empire with a population of one million.
1508-1511 First Europeans — Spaniards — come to Belize; Maya resist.
1798 Baymen defeat Spanish at Battle of St. George’s Caye on September10, Belize’s National Day.
1838 Slaves emancipated.
1862 Britain declares British Honduras a colony and a member of British
Commonwealth.
1931 Worst hurricane in Belize history strikes on September 10, kills
about 2,000.
1949 Protests against devaluation of British Honduras dollar lead to
formation of People’s United Party headed by George Price, sowing seeds of independence.
1961 Hurricane Hattie nearly levels Belize City on the night before
Halloween, kills more than 250.
1973 Name changed to Belize; capital moved to Belmopan from Belize
City.
1981 On September 21, Belize becomes fully independent member of
British Commonwealth.

Holidays: The following are legal public holidays in Belize:
New Year’s Day - January 1
Baron Bliss Day - March 9
Good Friday
Holy Saturday
Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
Labour Day - May 1
Commonwealth Day - May 24
St. George’s Caye Day - September 10
Independence Day - September 21
Columbus Day - October 12
Garifuna Settlement Day - November 19
Christmas Day - December 25
Boxing Day - December 26

Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters: June through November technically is hurricane season in the Western Caribbean, but the September and October period is the most likely time for tropical storms and hurricanes. The worst hurricane in modern Belize history struck in September 1931, killing as many as 2,000 people in and around Belize City. About two-thirds of all tropical storms that have visited Belize in modern times have struck during those two months. Since 1889, some 42 tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall in Belize, an average of about once every three years. During the last half of the 20th century, only five serious hurricanes struck Belize, with the worst being Hattie in 1961. However, with the new millennium has come an increase in storm activity. Hurricane Keith hit Ambergris Caye in late September 2000, killing three and doing some US$150 million in damage, mainly on the backside of the island. Hurricane Iris in early October 2001 devastated the Placencia peninsula and rural Toledo District in southern Belize, killing 21 people, all in a dive boat. However, no hurricanes hit Belize in 2002 or 2003.

Hurricanes can have a serious economic impact on Belize. For example, the Caribbean Development Bank estimates that in 2000 costs associated with hurricane damage were 13% of Gross Domestic Product and in 2001 6% of GDP.

Even without hurricanes and tropical storms, flooding does frequently occur in low-lying areas, especially at the beginning of the rainy season, typically in June or July. Heavy rains from June through September in southern Belize can also cause flooding at any time during this period.

Happily, Belize is not much subject to that other scourge of Central America – earthquakes. While earthquakes have occurred in Belize, notably in southern Belize, no severe terremotos have hit Belize in modern times. Likewise, there are no active volcanoes in Belize. Forest fires are a risk at the end of the dry season, typically April and May.

Internet: Belize Telecommunications, Ltd., the Belize phone company, had a legal monopoly in Belize on Internet access, at least until December 2002, when BTL’s telecommunications monopoly in Belize ended. So far, however, the end of the legal monopoly and the start-up of a competitor, Intelco, haven’t changed things very much. In late 2003, BTL was sold to a company called Innovative Communication Corp. in the U.S. Virgin Islands, so changes could be ahead. While Internet access is generally good, prices are several times higher than for similar service in the U.S. BTL users pay a US$12 monthly dial-up access fee, for 56k bps, plus US$3 an hour for the first 12 hours, then US$1.50 an hour for all hours thereafter. There are many complaints about BLT’s Internet service, especially on the service being down frequently, with missed e-mails and hard to-understand billing. DSL service is available from BTL in some areas. Current pricing for 128K up/256K down DSL is US$150 per month; 256K up/512K down is US$200 a month. Slower always-on DSL starts at US$50 a month. Installation for any DSL is US$100. Internet via digital cable is available in Belize City for around US$50 a month and may soon be available elsewhere. There also are a couple of wireless Internet providers in Chetumal, Mexico, and in the Corozal Free Zone, serving the Corozal area. Heavy Internet users in Belize often go with a satellite service, mainly Starband and sometimes DirecWay. Set-up, installation and activation fees vary but currently are in the US$800 to $1,000 range, with monthly fees for unlimited two-way service of around US$60.

Language: The official language of Belize is English, and English speakers have little or no trouble communicating anywhere in the country. However, Creole, a combination of mostly English vocabulary with West African grammar, syntax and word endings, is used daily by many Belizeans of all backgrounds. Spanish is widely spoken as well, and tends to be the dominant language in areas bordering Mexico and Guatemala. The current Belize government has called on all Belizeans to learn both Spanish and English. Garifuna and Maya languages also are spoken, and some Mennonites speak a German dialect. As many as two-thirds of Belizeans are bi- or tri-lingual.

Largest Cities and Towns: Populated areas in Belize are officially designated as a city, town or village. Belize City is the only city, with an official population of 44,067, according to the 2000 Belize Census. Including its outskirts, the city is home to about 60,000 people. Orange Walk and San Ignacio are the country’s two largest towns, each with less than 14,000 residents. The country’s towns, in order of population from largest to smallest, as of the 2000 Census, are:

Orange Walk (population 13,483)
San Ignacio (13,260)
Dangriga (8,814)
Belmopan (8,130)
Corozal (7,888)
Benque Viejo (5,088)
San Pedro (4,490)
Punta Gorda (4,329).

Belize is divided into six political districts, which are similar to (but much smaller than) U.S. states or Canadian provinces. The six districts, from north to south, are Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek and Toledo.

Location, Size and Population: Belize is on the Caribbean Coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south. To the east is the Caribbean Sea. In Belize waters are as many as 400 islands, most unpopulated specks of sand or mangrove. Belize is about the size of the U.S. state of Massachusetts or Wales in the U.K. — 8,866 square miles — with a population of around 279,000 in 2005, about as many people as live in metro Savannah, Georgia. From north to south Belize is less than 200 miles in length, and at its widest point it is less than 70 miles across.

Mail Service: Mail service to and from Belize is reasonably reliable and not too slow. Mail between the U.S. and Belize City usually takes less than a week. To outlying areas, however, it can take much longer – often several weeks. There are post offices in Belize City and in all towns and some villages. Unlike some of its Latin neighbors, Belize’s postal service does not usually suffer from theft and lost mail. To mail a letter from Belize to the U.S. costs 30 cents U.S. For fast, dependable but expensive international express delivery, DHL Worldwide Express, which has an office in Belize City (38 New Rd., tel. 501-223-4350) is a good choice.

Maps: The best maps of Belize are these:

Belize Traveller’s Map, ITMB. Scale 1:350,000. The best general map to Belize, last updated in 2001. US$8.95.

Driver’s Guide to Beautiful Belize, by Emory King. This mile-by-mile guide to most roads in Belize is really handy if you are traveling around the mainland. It’s a 40-some page booklet in 8 1/2” x 11” format, updated annually. It also has maps of Belize City and major towns. US$14.

Belize Topographical Map, British Ordnance Survey, 1:250,000-scale. Beautiful map, in two flat sheets, with Belize City and town maps on reverse sides. Also, there are 44 individual topo maps to most of Belize, at 1:50,000 scale. These are excellent maps but in most cases haven’t been updated since the early 1980s

Belize Traveller’s Map and Driver’s Guide are available from Equator, 280 Beaverdam Road, Candler, NC 28715 USA, e-mail bzefirst@aol.com Prices are as shown above, plus for shipping/handling US$4 for the first item and US$2 for each additional item (in the U.S., Canada and Mexico). For delivery outside these countries, S/H is US$8 for the first item and US$4 for each additional. Payment must be in US funds. The topo maps are usually available from Omni Maps, www.omnimaps.com

Media: Belize has two television stations, several radio stations and a number of weekly and monthly newspapers. There is no daily newspaper in the country. Cable television companies operate in most populated areas.

Most of the weekly newspapers in Belize are based in Belize City, but a few other towns have weekly or monthly newspapers. The two best national newspapers in Belize are Amandala and The Reporter. These two weekly tabloids are independent and outspoken, though coverage runs to strident political and crime news, and since they are based in Belize City both have a Creole, port city orientation that does not fully reflect the views of all of Belize’s diverse society. Both have Web editions: www.belizereporter.bz and www.amandala.bz

The Guardian and the Belize Times are operated by the two leading political parties in Belize. The weekly Belize Times is the United Peoples Party paper, and The Guardian is the United Democratic Party’s organ.

Ambergris Caye has two weekly newspapers. The San Pedro Sun (tel. 501-226-2070, e-mail sanpdrosun@btl.net www.sanpedrosun.net is operated by an expat couple. Ambergris Today (tel. 501-226-3462, e-mail ambertoday@btl.net www.ambergristoday.com is run by Dorian Nuñez.

There also are small newspapers in several outlying towns and villages: Stann Creek Star in Dangriga, Placencia Breeze in Placencia and others.

None of these newspapers has extensive classified listings for real estate or other items of interest to prospective expats, although the San Pedro Sun usually has a page or so of classified items for sale.

Two Belize City TV stations, Channel 5 – which provides the country’s most reliable news – and Channel 7, may also be picked up in a good part of the country, though these stations are not carried on all cable systems. Channel 5 has an informative text version of its nightly news broadcast on-line at www.channel5belize.com

KREM-FM 96.5 and LOVE-FM 95.1 (frequencies vary around the country) are the two most popular radio stations in Belize. KREM-FM has a morning talk and call-in show from 6 to 8:30 a.m., with host Evan Hyde Jr. During the day it broadcasts an eclectic mix of local music, rap, soul and other music, along with Belize news. LOVE-FM offers “easy listening” music during the day, with a morning call-in and talk show hosted by station owner Rene Villanueva from 6 to 8 a.m. This station has three full newscasts at 6:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and news updates frequently. Both stations offer Internet broadcasts (you have to install Real One media player.) Web site for KREM is www.krem.bz ; for LOVE www.lovefm.com

Most of these media can also be accessed from www.belizenews.com

Cable TV, typically with some 50 channels from the U.S. and Mexico, is available in many areas of Belize, offered by local companies. You pay around US$15 to $25 monthly for cable service. Some Belize residents have satellite TV.

Medical Care: Belize City is the center for medical care in Belize. A number of dentists and private medical clinics are available there. Many serious problems can be treated at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City (Princess Margaret Dr., tel. 501-223-1548), a modern public hospital albeit one plagued by equipment problems and supply shortages. It’s hard to beat the rates, though – US$17.50 per day for a hospital room. Much more expensive but reputedly offering a higher standard of health care is a private hospital in Belize City, Belize Medical Associates 5791 St. Thomas St., Kings Park; tel. 501-223-0302; e-mail bzemedassoc@btl.com Belize Medical Associates, an affiliate of South Miami Hospital, offers 24-hour emergency room care and has specialists on staff, including those in dermatology, general surgery, gynecology/obstetrics, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and radiology. Another private hospital, La Loma Luz, is in Santa Elena, Cayo district. There are eight public hospitals in outlying towns, including regional hospitals in Dangriga, and Orange Walk Town. Clinics are located around the country. Those with even more serious or life-threatening problems may want to get care in Mexico, Guatemala or the U.S. Wings of Hope in Belize City (tel. 501-223-0078) can handle medevac. (Also see the chapter on Health in Belize below.)

Money: The Belize currency is the Belize dollar, which for many years has been tied to the U.S. dollar at a fixed 2 Belize to 1 U.S. dollar rate. Moneychangers often give a slightly higher rate than 2 Belize for 1 U.S. dollar, sometimes as much as 2.2 to 1, depending on the current demand for American greenbacks. U.S. dollars (bills, not coins) are accepted everywhere in Belize, although you often will receive change in Belizean money, or in a mix of Belizean and U.S. money. There has been talk for years of dollarizing the Belize economy, similar to what El Salvador, Ecuador and other Latin countries have done, but so far that move hasn’t gotten traction. The Belize dollar is difficult if not impossible to exchange anywhere outside of Belize (except at border areas of Guatemala and Mexico).

Paper-money Belize denominations are the 100-, 50-, 20-, 10-, 5- and 2-dollar bills. Belize coins come in 1-dollar, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 Belizean cent units. The 25-cent piece is called a shilling.

People of Belize: Belize is truly a multicultural society. Mestizos make up about 49% of the population. These are persons of mixed European and Maya heritage, typically speaking Spanish as a first language and having social values more closely associated with Latin America than with the Caribbean. Mestizos are concentrated in northern and western Belize. There is often a distinction made between Mestizos who came to Belize from the Yucatán during the Caste Wars of the mid-19th century and more-recent immigrants from Central America. Mestizos are the fastest growing segment of the population.

Creoles, once the dominant ethnic groups in the country, now make up about 25% of the population. These are people usually but not always of African heritage, typically speaking Creole and English and often having a set of social values derived from England and the Caribbean. Creoles are concentrated in Belize City and Belize District, although there are predominantly Creole villages elsewhere, including the villages of Gales Point and Placencia. Maya constitute about 11% of the population. There are concentrations of Yucatec Maya in Corozal and Orange Walk districts, Mopan Maya in Toledo and Cayo districts, and Kekchí Maya in about 30 villages in Toledo. Garifuna (also known as Garinagu or Black Caribs) make up about 6% of the Belizean population. They are of mixed African and Carib Indian heritage. Most came to then British Honduras from Honduras in 1830s. Dangriga and Punta Gorda are towns with large Garifuna populations, as are the villages of Seine Bight, Hopkins and Barranco. The “Other” group, making up about 8% of the population, includes several thousand Mennonites who came to Belize from Canada and Mexico in the 1950s. Divided into conservative and progressive groups, they farm large acreages in Belize. Conservatives live mostly in Shipyard, Barton Creek and Little Belize, avoid the use of modern farm equipment and speak German among themselves. Progressives live mostly in Blue Creek, Progresso and Spanish Lookout. Belize also has sizable communities of East Indians, who live mainly around Belize City and inToledo, Chinese, mostly from Taiwan, living in Belize City and elsewhere, Lebanese and “Gringos,” mostly expats from the U.S. and Canada concentrated in San Pedro, Placencia, Cayo and around Corozal Town.

Belize predominantly is a country of the young. More than two out of five Belizeans are under 15 years of age, and the median average age is around 19 years.

Pharmacies: There are drug stores in Belize City and in all towns. Many prescription drugs cost less in Belize than in the U.S., though pharmacies may not stock a wide selection of drugs. In general, in Belize prescriptions usually are not needed for antibiotics and some other drugs that require prescriptions in the U.S., although pharmacies owned by physicians or operated by hospitals (common in Belize) may require or suggest a consultation with the doctor.

Taxes: The main taxes you’ll face in Belize are:

• National sales tax of 9% on nearly all items, plus 2% environmental tax on many items, with 12% tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuel. A few items are exempt: basic foodstuffs such as rice, flour, tortillas, eggs and beans; some medicines; electricity and water and sewerage services; school textbooks; transportation on buses and airplanes, items being exported and hotel stays taxed under the hotel tax system.

• Import duties of up to 80% on imported items, with some items such as computers and books having no duty and most having 20% or less duty. The average duty on imported items is around 20 to 30%.

• Personal income tax ranges from 25% to up to 45%, with those making about US$20,000 or less per year effectively paying no tax. The 45% rate kicks in on an income of about US$47,500. Personal income tax is only on income derived in Belize; there is no Belize income tax on income generated outside Belize.

• Corporate or business tax on gross revenues (without any deductions) rather than earnings, with the percentage tax depending on the category of business. The rate for what is actually a turnover tax ranges from 0.75% to 25%. For most businesses it is 1.5% of gross revenue; for most professions it is 3% of gross revenue.

• Property taxes vary but are about 1% of the value of the undeveloped land, payable annually on April 1. Property taxes in Belize are based on land value rather than the developed value of the property, and the idea is to encourage development. Property taxes on homes and other developed land are very low. For example, the property tax on a nice four-bedroom North American-style home would likely be in the range of US$100 to $200. There is a 5% speculation tax on land of 300 acres or more, payable annually on April 1 based on the value of the land.

• Property transfer tax of 5% of property value (for citizens of Belize and Caricom countries) plus another 10% alien land transfer tax for foreigners, or a total of 15% of property value, usually paid by purchaser, though the parties may agree to split the tax.

• No inheritance tax.

• No capital gains tax.

• Hotel tax of 9% on hotel stays

Belize has signed double taxation agreements with many countries, including: United Kingdom, Bahamas, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Lucia.

Note: This very brief overview of Belize taxation should not be relied on for your actual situation, for which professional tax advice is recommended.

Telecommunications: Belize has good telephone service, both internally and internationally, with fiber optic cables and other modern technology. However, calling costs, especially internationally, are high. Belize Telecommunications Ltd. enjoyed until the end of 2002 a monopoly on telcom service in Belize. The market is now more open, and a competitor named Intelco is offering some wireless services, but BTL still controls most telcom services in the country. BTL’s Web site is at www.btl.net  In 2004, it a company based in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Innovative Communication Corp., bought a majority interest in BTL for US$100 million.

It costs about US$45 for BTL to install a telephone in your home, plus a US$100 refundable deposit. If you are not a citizen or official resident, the deposit jumps to US$500.

A new seven-digit dialing system was introduced in 2002. Formerly, telephone numbers in Belize had five digits, plus a two-digit local exchange number in Belize. Many travel guidebooks and Web sites still list these old numbers, which no longer will work. Most new numbers can be looked up on the online directory on BTL’s Web site. Now to reach any number in Belize you must dial all seven digits. All numbers begin with a district area code: 2 for Belize District, which includes Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, 3 for Orange Walk District, 4 for Corozal District, 5 for Stann Creek District, 6 for mobile phones, 7 for Toledo District and 8 for Cayo District. The second digit of the phone number is a service provider code: 0 for prepaid services, 1 for mobile services and 2 for regular telephone service. So a number like 22x-xxxx indicates that it is in Belize District and is a regular telephone, not a cell phone and not a prepaid service. When dialing from outside Belize, you must also dial the country code and international calling prefix. The country code for Belize is 501. When dialing from the U.S., add 011. Local calls in Belize are charged on a unit system (each call is one unit, costing US15 cents, after some free units.) Costs for calls to other parts of Belize vary: A 10-minute call to Belize City from San Pedro is US$1. Costs of direct-dialed long-distance calls to the U.S. currently are US87 1/2 cents a minute, and less at night. Pay phones in Belize now operate only with a prepaid BTL calling card. These cards are sold in many shops in denominations from US$5 to $25. BTL provides a single telephone directory for Belize, published annually. (See also Internet above.)

Time: Local time is GMT-6 year-round, the same as U.S. Central Standard Time. Belize does not observe daylight savings time.

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