Page 217 - Central America
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elize has the lowest population density in the Central American Integration System (SICA), he climate is subtropical, with brisk prevail-
the only country to hold full membership in all
BCentral America. the country’s population three regional organisations. Ting tradewinds from the Caribbean Sea.
growth rate of 1.97% per year (2013) is the sec- Throughout Belize’s history, Guatemala has The country has an annual mean temperature
ond highest in the region and one of the high- claimed ownership of all or part of Belizean of 79 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humid-
est in the Western Hemisphere. Belize’s abun- territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in ity, while high, is nicely tempered by the sea
dance of terrestrial and marine species and its maps showing Belize as Guatemala’s twenty- breezes. Variation in weather features, empha-
diversity of ecosystems give it a key place in the third department. As of February 2012, the sizes the interesting difference in elevation,
globally significant Mesoamerican Biological border dispute with Guatemala remains un- geology, plant and animal life. A summer high
Corridor. resolved and quite contentious. Guatemala’s temperature, usually never exceeds 96 degrees
claim to Belizean territory rests, in part, on Fahrenheit, and winter lows are seldom below
Belize has a diverse society, composed of Clause VII of the Anglo-Guatemalan Treaty of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, even at night. Saltwater
many cultures and languages that reflect its 1859, which obligated the British to build a road temperature varies between 75 degrees Fahr-
rich history. Originally part of the British Empire, between Belize City and Guatemala. At various enheit and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual rain-
it shares a common colonial history with other times the issue has required mediation by the fall ranges from 50 inches in the North to 170
Anglophone Caribbean countries. From 1862 United Kingdom, Caribbean Community heads inches in the South. Although the rainy season
to 1973 the area went by the name of British of government, the Organization of American is usually between June and August and the dry
Honduras. It became an independent Common- States (OAS), Mexico, and the United States. No- season is between February and May, global
wealth realm in 1981, retaining Queen Elizabeth tably, both Guatemala and Belize participate in weather changes are making historical predic-
II as head of state. Belize is considered a Central confidence-building measures approved by the tions somewhat invalid. At the end of October,
American and Caribbean nation with strong OAS such as the Guatemala-Belize Language the weather does become cooler, and from
ties to both the Latin American and Caribbean Exchange Project. November to February, it is pleasant with occa-
regions. It is a member of the Caribbean Com- sional light showers of rain. Average humidity is
munity (CARICOM), the Community of Latin 85 percent.
American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and
