# Belize and Guatemala compared Belize and Guatemala side by side: 40 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/blz-vs-gtm Updated: 2026-08-11 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Belize: 21 September 1981 — Belize achieves full independence from the United Kingdom - Guatemala: 15 September 1821 — The Act of Independence of Central America is enacted at Guatemala City ## Economy | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $3.2 B | 2024 | $113 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $7,681 | 2024 | $6,150 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.5% | 2024 | 3.7% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.3% | 2024 | 2.9% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 109.0% | 2024 | 47.3% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 417,000 | 2024 | 18 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 73.7 yrs | 2024 | 72.7 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 41.8% | 2024 | 56.0% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 2.0 | 2024 | 2.3 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 58.7 | 2024 | 48.6 | 2024 | | Political stability | 79.3 | 2024 | 62.3 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 48.8 | 2024 | 33.7 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 47.8 | 2024 | 50.0 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 50.1 | 2024 | 40.4 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 44.6 | 2024 | 28.7 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 4.1% | 2023 | 6.8% | 2023 | | Physicians | 1.09 | 2018 | 1.28 | 2020 | | Under-5 mortality | 12.7 | 2024 | 20.5 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 84.0% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | — | — | 48.8% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 87.9% | 2022 | 82.1% | 2024 | | Education spending | 4.6% | 2024 | 3.1% | 2024 | | Primary enrolment | 96.5% | 2024 | 101.5% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 86.5% | 2024 | 49.6% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 24.8% | 2024 | 27.3% | 2023 | ## Technology | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Internet users | 80.0% | 2024 | 60.2% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 67 | 2022 | 113 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 0.0% | 2024 | 5.4% | 2024 | | R&D spending | — | — | 0.0% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | — | — | 1 | 2023 | ## Geography | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 22,810 km² | 2023 | 107,160 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 54.5% | 2023 | 32.6% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 8.0% | 2023 | 43.0% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.9 | 2024 | 1.1 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 30.8% | 2022 | 62.1% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.5% | 2021 | 1.9% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.2% | 2021 | 0.7% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 99.6% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Belize | Observed | Guatemala | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.9% | 2024 | 0.4% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $30 M | 2024 | $415 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 2,000 | 2020 | 43,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BLZ.md and https://terralore.co/country/GTM.md. ## Entangled histories (4 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1859: **The Anglo-Guatemalan boundary treaty** — Britain and Guatemala signed a treaty fixing the settlement's limits from the Río Hondo to the Sarstoon; the unfulfilled Article 7, promising a means of communication never built, became the root of Guatemala's later claim. (from the Belize chronicle; sources: The Belize–Guatemala Territorial Differendum (Peace Fund); Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize), Case No. 177; Our History) - 21 September 1981: **Independence as Belize** — Belize became an independent state within the Commonwealth on 21 September 1981 with George Price as first prime minister — the last British colony on the Central American mainland to win independence, its frontier still claimed by Guatemala. (from the Belize chronicle; sources: A Guide to the History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Belize; History of Belize; Our History) - 8 December 2008: **Special Agreement on the dispute** — Belize and Guatemala signed a Special Agreement committing to submit Guatemala's territorial, insular and maritime claim to the International Court of Justice, subject to approval by referendum in each country. (from the Belize chronicle; sources: The Belize–Guatemala Territorial Differendum (Peace Fund); Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize), Case No. 177) - 2020 onward: **Pleadings before the World Court** — Guatemala and Belize filed written pleadings before the International Court of Justice in the case "Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize)", moving toward a final, binding judgment on the century-old dispute. (from the Belize chronicle; sources: Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize), Case No. 177) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BLZ/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/GTM/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Belize and Guatemala compared", terralore.co/compare/blz-vs-gtm, retrieved .