Americas

IOM Today

An intergovernmental organization established in 1951, IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

  • 146 Members and 98 observers including 13 States and 85 global and regional IGOs and NGOs
  • More than 440 field locations
  • More than 7,300 staff working on more than 2,900 projects
  • More than US$ 1.4 billion expenditures in 2010

IOM Worldwide


Quick Links

Warning - Internet Scams

Beware of fraudulent offers of migration assistance in the internet or email marketing.

Individuals considering migrating for whatever purpose or destination should take extreme caution in dealing with internet offers or email marketing in light of recent surge in fraudulent schemes.

  Belize  

Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 2000
Capital: Belmopan
Population (2010): 313,000
Area: 22,965 sq km
Major Languages: English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole
Currency: Belizean dollar (BZD)
GDP per Capita PPP (2009): USD 6,628
HDI Rank (2010): 78 of 169
Remittances (2009): USD 80 million
Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -0.6 migrants / 1,000 population
Immigrants (2010): 15%
Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 52.1%
Population under 15 (2010): 34.5%
Adult HIV Prevalence (2007): 2.1%

Sources and Definitions

Migration Issues

In relative terms, Belize is the Central American country that has received the largest foreign population since 1983. In 2000, foreigners constituted 14.8 percent of the population. This migrant population has heavily impacted services, access to land and job opportunities, particularly in major urban centres like Belize City. This is an important challenge to the government, particularly in terms of social integration and cohesion. However, Belize is considered a country of immigrants as the state was constituted on the basis of ethnic and cultural diversity, and authorities have taken important steps to regularise the situation of foreigners by granting temporary employment permits and citizenship to Central American immigrants.

IOM has been cooperating with the government in projects aimed at documenting its citizens, in particular by establishing a secure passport issuing system, combined with a biometric subsystem for duplicate identity checking. Other assistance is being provided in the framework of a counter-trafficking research project and in the OCAM.


Last updated:
Main text: 2006
Facts and figures: May 2011