Belize Economy - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

tourism- and agriculture-driven economy; strong post-pandemic rebound; innovative and ecological bond restructuring that significantly lowered public debt and expanded marine protections; central bank offering USD-denominated treasury notes; high mobility across borders

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$3.505 billion (2021 est.)

$3.042 billion (2020 est.)

$3.513 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

15.23% (2021 est.)

-13.4% (2020 est.)

4.5% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$8,800 (2021 est.)

$7,700 (2020 est.)

$9,000 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.854 billion (2017 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.24% (2021 est.)

0.12% (2020 est.)

0.19% (2019 est.)

Credit ratings

Moody's rating: Caa3 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: CCC+ (2020)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 10.3% (2017 est.)

industry: 21.6% (2017 est.)

services: 68% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 75.1% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 15.2% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 22.5% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: 1.2% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 49.1% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -63.2% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

sugar care, oranges, bananas, maize, poultry, rice, sorghum, papayas, grapefruit, soybeans

Industries

garment production, food processing, tourism, construction, oil

Industrial production growth rate

15.08% (2021 est.)

Labor force

176,900 (2021 est.)

note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 10.2%

industry: 18.1%

services: 71.7% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate

8.22% (2021 est.)

8.46% (2020 est.)

6.71% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 19.3%

male: 12.2%

female: 31.9% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

41% (2013 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA

highest 10%: NA

Budget

revenues: $583 million (2019 est.)

expenditures: $656 million (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

99% of GDP (2017 est.)

95.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

21.16% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Current account balance

-$162.434 million (2021 est.)

-$127.92 million (2020 est.)

-$184.646 million (2019 est.)

Exports

$1.044 billion (2021 est.)

$714.624 million (2020 est.)

$1.102 billion (2019 est.)

note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.

Exports - partners

United States 16%, United Kingdom 16%, Guatemala 7%, Italy 6%, Spain 6% (2021)

Exports - commodities

raw sugar, bananas, fishing ships, lobsters and crawfish, beer (2021)

Imports

$1.252 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$901.819 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$1.203 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

United States 29%, China 14%, Seychelles 13%, Guatemala 10%, Mexico 9% (2021)

Imports - commodities

recreational boats, refined petroleum, cigarettes, ships, natural gas (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$420,102,800 (31 December 2021 est.)

$348,090,100 (31 December 2020 est.)

$277,578,800 (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$1.315 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$1.338 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

Belizean dollars (BZD) per US dollar -

2 (2021 est.)

2 (2020 est.)

2 (2019 est.)

2 (2018 est.)

2 (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Belize on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Belize 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Belize 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.