Belize

Belize
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Sub Umbra Floreo" (Latin) "Under the shade I flourish"
Anthem: "Land of the Free"
Location of  Belize  (dark green) in the Americas
Capital	Belmopan 17°15′N 88°46′W / 17.250°N 88.767°W / 17.250; -88.767
Largest city	Belize City
Official languages	English
Recognized languages	Spanish Kriol Mayan languages Mopan Yucatec German Garifuna Chinese Hindustani [1]
Ethnic groups (2010)[1][2][a]	52.9% Mestizo 25.9% Creole (Afrodescendant) 11.3% Maya 6.1% Garifuna 4.8% European 3.9% East Indian 1.0% Chinese 1.2% Other 0.3% Unknown
Religion (2010[1][2])	63.8% Christianity 25.5% No religion 10.1% Others 0.6% Undeclared
Demonym(s)	Belizean
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Froyla Tzalam
• Prime Minister	Johnny Briceño
Legislature	National Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Self-governance	January 1964
• Independence	21 September 1981
• Republic	21 September 2021
Area
• Total	22,966 km2 (8,867 sq mi)[3] (147th)
• Water (%)	0.8
Population
• 2020 estimate	419,199[4] (176th)
• 2010 census	324,528[5]
• Density	17.79/km2 (46.1/sq mi) (169th)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$3.484 billion[6]
• Per capita	$9,576[6]
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$1.987 billion[6]
• Per capita	$4,890[6]
Gini (2013)	53.1[7] high
HDI (2019)	0.716[8] high · 110th
Currency	Belize dollar (BZD)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST (GMT-6)[9])
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+501
ISO 3166 code	BZ
Internet TLD	.bz

Belize (/bəˈliːz/ (listen)) is a country in Central America. It used to be called British Honduras, but changed its name in 1973. Long before that it was part of the Mayan Empire. Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America.

Some people in Belize speak Spanish or Kriol, but English is the official language and the most commonly spoken. This is because Belize is a former colony of the United Kingdom, while its neighbors were once colonies of Spain. Many people speak two languages.^[10][11] Belize is a melting pot of cultures.

More than three hundred and thirty thousand (374,681 (2017))^[12] people live in Belize. Kriols make up about 21% of the Belizean people. Three Maya groups now live in the country: the Yucatec, the Mopan, and Kekchi.^[13] The Garinagu are a mix of African, Arawak, and Carib ancestry. There are also Mestizos.

Belmopan, which is near the centre of the country, is its capital. The first capital was Belize City. Other towns and cities include Belize City, Corozal Town, Orange Walk Town, Punta Gorda, Santa Elena/San Ignacio (known as the twin town) and San Pedro Town.

Belize is on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. There are about 450 islands. The largest island, Ambergris Caye, is forty kilometres long. Many other islands are very small. In the water around the islands are coral reefs.

The temperature along the coast is hot all year round. It typically ranges from 21 °C to 32 °C. Sometimes hurricanes hit, causing great damage.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Belize Population and Housing Census 2010: Country Report" (PDF). Statistical Institute of Belize. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Belize, People and Society, The World Factbook". CIA. 14 August 2019. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
3. ↑ "Belize, Geography, The World Factbook". CIA. 14 August 2019. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
4. ↑ "Population and Population Density 2010, Postcensal estimates". Statistical Institute of Belize. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
5. ↑ "Belize Population and Housing Census 2010: Country Report" (PDF). Statistical Institute of Belize. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} "Belize". International Monetary Fund.
7. ↑ "Income Gini coefficient". United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
8. ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
9. ↑ Belize (11 March 1947). "Definition of Time Act" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2020. Unusually, the legislation states that standard time is six hours later than Greenwich mean time.
10. ↑ "2010 Census of Belize Overview". 2011. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
11. ↑ "2010 Census of Belize Detailed Demographics of 2000 and 2010". 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
12. ↑ "Belize" (PDF). 2010 Belize Housing and Population Census. Statistical Institute of Belize. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
13. ↑ Cho, Julian (1998). Maya Homeland Archived 2010-02-03 at the Wayback Machine. University of California Berkeley Geography Department and the Toledo Maya of Southern Belize. Retrieved 4 January 2007.