Belize

About the same size as Wales, Belize rests on the Caribbean coast between Mexico and Guatemala; an exotic, English-speaking, adventurer´s paradise, just a couple of hours away from three major United States cities. Almost half the country has been preserved as nature parks and reserves, including tropical forests teeming with wildlife and hiding mysterious Mayan ruins, and 174 miles (280km) of coastline featuring the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere.

A Happy-Go-Lucky Nation

Like most Caribbean countries, Belize was occupied by British and Spanish colonialists over the centuries before gaining independence (only lately recognised by neighbouring Guatemala, which laid claim to the territory) in 1981. Today it is a happy-go-lucky, multi-ethnic nation of warm, friendly people, very welcoming of the tourists on whom the country´s economy relies heavily.

Belize City

The main urban area (although not the capital, which is Belmopan) is Belize City, which offers some attractions like a world-class zoo, a new museum, historic buildings and the Maya site of Altun Ha.

A Beautiful, yet Poor Country

Despite being a beautiful country in an exotic part of the world, Belize is also a very poor country. With a GDP per capita of only $3,866 or £1,947; Belize struggles with many basic services for its citizens such as education. In 2006 the spend on each pupil was just £200 per pupil a year, with 77% of this going on teachers’ salaries, leaving only £46 per pupil on resources and buildings. The comparative figure for the UK will reach £5,750 per pupil by the end of 2008.

Lack of School Building

Although the Government of Belize provides 100 % of the maintenance costs of schools in Belize such as teacher salaries and books, they can only afford to provide 50 % of the capital costs for building construction. This has led to a severe lack of school buildings in Belize, which UNESCO states as Belize's biggest obstacle to meeting the 2015 Millennium Development Goals for education set out by the UN.

Rising Population

Also, with a rising population this problem is becoming greater. Belize is a young nation with 105,000 of the 296,000 population being between 0 and 14 years of age. So even though over the past years enrolment in education has increased, coverage has not. For instance in the 3-6 year old category in Belize only 21% of those in the age group attend school due to the lack of provision. The importance of education is also realized by these young students as Belize has the highest completion rate throughout Central America, with over 80% of students entering primary school staying the whole 10 compulsory years.

23% of Adults are Illiterate

This lack of education prevents the country escaping the poverty trap as currently, due to lack of education, 23 % of adults are illiterate and thus struggle to find work, keeping them poor.

204 Primary Schools Built by Grant Aid

In 2000 the Government of Belize had only built 52 of the 256 primary schools in the country, whereas the rest were the work of grant-aid, such as ours.

Statistics

Comparative Statistics UK Belize
GDP per capita £ 22,803 £ 1,947
Spend per Pupil £ 5,750 £ 200
Life Expectancy 79 yrs 68 yrs
Literacy Rate 99 % 77 %
Population aged 0-14 17 % 39 %