Belize KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1981 Population: 332,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 2.0% p.a. 1990–2013 GDP p.c.: US$4,660 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 84 Life expectancy: 74 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 17 (2012) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 3.8% of GDP (2012) General information Belize forms part of the Commonwealth Caribbean and is located in Central America, bordering Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south. Climate: The climate is subtropical, moderated by trade winds. The average temperature November–January is 24°C and May–September 27°C; inland there is a greater range. There are two dry seasons: March–May and August–September (the Maugre season). Annual rainfall ranges from 1,290 mm in the north to 4,450 mm in the south. The country is susceptible to hurricanes; Hurricane Iris in October 2001 – the fourth in three years – was the worst for 40 years. Several years later, in August 2007, Hurricane Dean hit Belize, affecting the livelihoods of up to 2,500 families in the northern parts of the country. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents and agricultural run-off; and solid waste disposal. Population: 332,000 (2013); 44 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate was 2.5 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 23 per 1,000 people (40 in 1970) and life expectancy was 74 years (66 in 1970). Belizeans descend from Mayans, Caribs and the many groups who came as loggers, settlers, refugees, slaves and imported labour: English, Spanish, Africans and East Indians. According to the 2000 census, the population comprises 49 per cent Mestizos (Maya-Spanish), 25 per cent Creoles (Afro-European), 11 per cent Mayans and six per cent Garifuna (Afro-Carib). There is a small Mennonite farming community that speaks a dialect of German and a fast-growing Chinese community. Economy: Belize is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Belize was 14 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. Since the early 1990s the under-five mortality rate has been decreasing steadily, from approximately 44 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to 17 deaths per 100,000 in 2013. This decrease is encouraging and means that the under-five mortality rate is close to the country’s target of 13 deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the three most prominent known causes of death for children below the age of five years were prematurity (14 per cent), congenital anomalies (12 per cent) and intrapartum-related complications (ten per cent). Other contributory causes were injuries, neonatal sepsis and acute respiratory infections, contributing eight, six and five per cent, respectively. In the period 2007–13 Belize had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 45 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 53 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 65 per cent majority of all mortality in Belize in 2012. The most prevalent NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 25 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012. Cancer, diabetes and non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases contributed 11 per cent, nine per cent and four per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for 16 per cent of deaths in 2012. 148 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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