Economy of Belize

Economy of Belize
	Belize City
Currency	Belize dollar (BZD, BZ$)
Fiscal year	1 April – 31 March
Trade organisations	CARICOM, WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Lower-middle income economy;
Statistics
GDP	$1.925 billion (nominal, 2018); $3.367 billion (PPP, 2018);
GDP rank	165th (nominal, 2019); 167th (PPP, 2019);
GDP growth	2.1% (2018) 0.3% (2019e); −13.5% (2020f) 6.7% (2021f);
GDP per capita	$4,862 (nominal, 2018 est.); $8,504 (PPP, 2018);
GDP per capita rank	99th (nominal, 2018); 115th (PPP, 2018);
GDP by sector	agriculture: 13%; industry: 23%; services: 64%; (2012 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	0.294% (2018)
Population below poverty line	41.3% (2009); 53% on less than $5.50/day (1999);
Human Development Index	0.683 medium (2021) (123rd); 0.535 low IHDI (2021);
Labour force	184,610 (2019); 59.8% employment rate (2017); note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel;
Labour force by occupation	Agriculture: 10.2%; industry: 18.1%; services: 71.7%; (2007 est.);
Unemployment	11.1% (2016)
Main industries	Garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil
External
Exports	$633 million (2013 est.)
Export goods	Sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood, crude oil
Main export partners	United States 21.7%; United Kingdom 16.1%; Guatemala 9.85%; Spain 7.2% (2022);
Import goods	Machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, tobacco
Main import partners	United States 33.3%; China 22.5%; Guatemala 9.28%; Mexico 7.75% (2022);
Gross external debt	$1.048 billion (December 2013 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	$1.229 billion (2013 est.)
Revenues	410.1 million (2013 est.)
Expenses	352.4 million (2013 est.)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:; CC (Domestic); CC (Foreign); CC (T&C Assessment);
	Main data source: CIA World Fact Book ; All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Belize is a small, essentially private enterprise economy that is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and services. The cultivation of newly discovered oil in the town of Spanish Lookout has presented new prospects and problems for this developing nation. Belize's primary exports are citrus, sugar, and bananas. Belize's trade deficit has been growing, mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas.

The new government faces important challenges to economic stability. Rapid action to improve tax collection has been promised, but a lack of progress in reining in spending could bring the exchange rate under pressure. The Belize dollar is fixed to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 2:1.

Domestic industry is limited, constrained by relatively high-cost labour and energy and a small domestic market. Tourism attracts the most foreign direct investment although significant foreign investment is also found in the energy, telecommunications, and agricultural sectors.

Belize is considered a tax haven.

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