Belize vs Guatemala
Belize vs Guatemala: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 66.9% of GDP in Belize and 26.7% of GDP in Guatemala, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Belize, by 40.2 percentage points, or 2.51 times that in Guatemala.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Belize has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2001.
- In 2025, Belize ranked 42 and Guatemala ranked 134 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Belize at 65.4% of GDP and Guatemala at 30.6% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Belize | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 66.9 | 26.7 |
| 2024 | 64.3 | 26.3 |
| 2023 | 66.6 | 27.2 |
| 2022 | 66.2 | 29 |
| 2021 | 81.8 | 30.6 |
| 2020 | 102.6 | 31.5 |
| 2019 | 78.4 | 26.4 |
| 2018 | 78.8 | 26.4 |
| 2017 | 78.1 | 25.1 |
| 2016 | 70.5 | 24.9 |
| 2015 | 65.1 | 24.8 |
| 2014 | 61.5 | 24.7 |
| 2013 | 62.8 | 25 |
| 2012 | 63.1 | 24.6 |
| 2011 | 66.2 | 23.8 |
| 2010 | 68.4 | 24 |
| 2009 | 69.7 | 22.8 |
| 2008 | 64.7 | 19.6 |
| 2007 | 66.4 | 20.8 |
| 2006 | 71.4 | 20.9 |
| 2005 | 72.7 | 20 |
| 2004 | 70.7 | 20.6 |
| 2003 | 67.2 | 19.8 |
| 2002 | 53.2 | 17.4 |
| 2001 | 49.5 | 19.1 |
| 2000 | – | 18 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Belize | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 64.6 | 27.5 |
| 2027 | 65.8 | 28.4 |
| 2028 | 66.5 | 29.2 |
| 2029 | 66.3 | 29.7 |
| 2030 | 65.8 | 30.2 |
| 2031 | 65.4 | 30.6 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Belize vs Guatemala
Health
- Life expectancyBelize: 73.6 years in 2023Guatemala: 72.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBelize: 1.3 per 100 live births in 2024Guatemala: 2.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBelize: 8.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023Guatemala: 17.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBelize: 2.84% in 2017Guatemala: 3.22% in 2017
- Suicide rateBelize: 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Guatemala: 5.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBelize: 411,100 people in 2023Guatemala: 18.1 million people in 2023
- Population growthBelize: 1.46% a year in 2023Guatemala: 1.55% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBelize: 2.01 births per woman in 2023Guatemala: 2.31 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBelize: 41.6% in 2025Guatemala: 56.3% in 2025
- Median ageBelize: 26 years in 2023Guatemala: 22.6 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBelize: 4.8% in 2023Guatemala: 4.7% in 2023
- Net migration rateBelize: 1.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Guatemala: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBelize: 1% of GDP in 2025Guatemala: 0.52% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBelize: $32.9M in 2025Guatemala: $617M in 2025
- Military spending per personBelize: $79 in 2025Guatemala: $34 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBelize: 3.7% of government spending in 2025Guatemala: 3.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBelize: 2,000 people in 2020Guatemala: 43,000 people in 2020
- National powerBelize: 0% of world capability in 2022Guatemala: 0.09% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBelize: 1.32% of the labour force in 2020Guatemala: 0.64% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBelize: 1 million TIV in 2023Guatemala: 6 million TIV in 2023