BELMOPAN, Belize – The Director General of the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), Diana Castillo-Trejo, says the country’s population has been growing at a “slower rate than was previously estimated,” after the preliminary results of the 2022 census showed that the population had increased by 23 per cent since 2010.
Director General of the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), Diana Castillo-TrejoThe SIB earlier this week, released the preliminary findings of the census, showing that over the 12 year period, the population had increased by just over 75,000, with the data showing that the population has been declining by a larger number each year.
“And what we can see here from the population series that has been revised for 2011 to 2021 is that one, our population has been growing at a slower rate than was previously estimated. We also see that the rate of growth for our population has been decelerating. We grow by less and less every year, and this is due in large part to declining fertility rates,” Castillo-Trejo said, noting that there has also been a decline in the number of people getting married in Belize.
“We also see some slight shifts with respect to marital status. So, the per cent of our population that reported that they had never been married for 2022, both males and females, was somewhere around 60 per cent.
“For males, it was over 62 per cent. For females, it was over 50 per cent and both of these were up a few percentage points from 2010, and this corresponded with a slight decrease in the number of persons who reported that they had been married.”
But the SIB director general said that while there have been declining marriage rates, the number of people reported in common law partnerships have increased.
“Similarly, when we look at union status, there is a shift, a slight shift away from being married, living with a spouse, to common law living arrangements. So there’s a decrease in both males and females in the percent of the population that reported that they were married and currently living with their spouse.”
She said that the decline in population is consistent with the trends observed in a number of other countries around the world.
“We can take a look at how our population has changed just in a snapshot form over the past several decades, and we will see that there have been not only changes in terms of growth of the population, but also changes in terms of our general age structure
“So you’ll see over time that the very base of our pyramid, which indicates our younger population, has been steadily widening right up until 2010, which was the first census in which we observed that our very base, our children aged zero to four years old, was actually narrower relative to the age groups just above it.
“By 2022, we can see that this trend was even more pronounced, and this is signaling at least the beginning of a gradual aging of our population. Remember, fertility rates are declining, people are having less children, base of our population is shrinking, and we are starting to age as a population over time,” said Castillo-Trejo.
Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of the Ministry of Economic Development, Dr. Osmond Martinez, said that another contributor to the low population has been the decline in people who were born abroad migrating to Belize.
He said that while the number of people who migrate to Belize for work is still significant, they are operating in informal positions such as construction and agriculture and that he does not believe the country should open its borders to accommodate such workers.
“I don’t think that we need to open the borders. I think there needs to be, and the Ministry of Labour is working on the work permit.
“But we have to be clear, and it is visible that there is still a lot of crime in Central America, criminals in Central America, gang members, so it is important that who comes to Belize is well screened and that all the background is done and all the due diligence that needs to do by our security department is being done.
“And so, I don’t think it needs to open the border, but yes, we need to improve especially for the private sector and new investors that are coming into Belize. It’s important to enable that environment where visas can be issue on a more timely manner and the work permits. I am happy to say, that the Ministry of Labor have and it’s working continuously to improve that system,” Martinez added.
