Belize
Name
| Official name | Belize — no longer form |
|---|---|
| Former name | British Honduras, until 1 June 1973 |
| Demonym | Belizean |
| Meaning of the name | Most often from the Maya belix or beliz, "muddy water," for the Belize River; or from Peter Wallace, the Scottish buccaneer whose name the Spanish rendered Belice |
| Motto | "Sub Umbra Floreo" — under the shade I flourish |
Quick facts
| Capital | Belmopan, in the interior — the capital since 1970, planned after Hurricane Hattie of 1961; about 25,000 people |
|---|---|
| Largest city | Belize City, on the coast — the former capital and the commercial center, about 65,000 |
| Official language | English — the only official language in Central America; Belizean Kriol the everyday tongue, Spanish spoken by more than half |
| Currency | Belize dollar — ISO code BZD, BZ$; fixed at BZ$2 to US$1 since 1978; U.S. dollars accepted everywhere |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time, UTC−6, all year — no daylight saving |
| Calling code | +501 |
| Internet domain | .bz |
| ISO 3166 codes | BZ · BLZ · 084 |
| Vehicle registration code | BZ |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 110 V, 60 Hz; plug types A and B |
| Independence | 21 September 1981, from the United Kingdom |
| National days | 21 September, Independence Day; 10 September, St. George's Caye Day (the battle of 1798); 19 November, Garifuna Settlement Day; 9 March, National Heroes and Benefactors Day |
| Head of state | King Charles III, represented by a Governor-General — a Commonwealth realm |
| Population | About 420,000 — 422,000 (CIA World Factbook, 2025 est.); 397,000 (census of 2022) |
| Area | 22,966 km² (8,867 sq mi) — land 22,806 km², water 160 km²; a little smaller than Massachusetts |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | The coat of arms on a white disc on royal blue between two red stripes — two woodcutters under a mahogany tree in a wreath of 50 leaves, one party's blue between the other's red; adopted at independence on 21 September 1981, standardized in 2019; with twelve colors the most colorful national flag in the world.Flag of Belize |
|---|---|
| Coat of arms | A shield of woodcutters' tools and a ship under sail before a mahogany tree, supported by two woodcutters — a mestizo and a Creole — on the motto scroll, in a wreath of 50 leaves; granted 1907, revised 1981 |
| National anthem | "Land of the Free" — words by Samuel Alfred Haynes, music by Selwyn Walford Young; adopted 1981 |
| National motto | "Sub Umbra Floreo" — under the shade I flourish |
| National colors | Blue, red and white |
| National bird | The keel-billed toucan — designated |
| National animal | Baird's tapir, the "mountain cow" — designated |
| National flower | The black orchid (Prosthechea cochleata) — designated |
| National tree | The mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) — designated; the tree of the arms and of the country's founding trade |
| National dish | Rice and beans with stewed chicken; fry jacks, hudut, boil-up — widely cited |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms, anthem and motto are the national symbols in law; the bird, animal, flower and tree are designated by the government; the dishes are widely cited |
Geography
| Location | Central America, on the Caribbean — the only Central American country with no Pacific coast; on the Yucatán Peninsula |
|---|---|
| Coastline | 386 km (240 mi), sheltered by the reef |
| Land borders | 542 km (337 mi) with two countries |
| Border with Mexico | 276 km (171 mi) — the Río Hondo in the north |
| Border with Guatemala | 266 km (165 mi) — the Sarstoon River in the south |
| Highest point | Doyle's Delight, 1,124 m (3,688 ft), in the Maya Mountains; Victoria Peak, 1,120 m, the better-known summit |
| Lowest point | The Caribbean Sea, 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 173 m (568 ft) |
| The reef | The Belize Barrier Reef, about 300 km (190 mi) — the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere and the second largest in the world after Australia's; a World Heritage site since 1996 |
| The Great Blue Hole | A marine sinkhole on Lighthouse Reef, about 300 m (1,000 ft) across and 124 m (407 ft) deep |
| Longest river | The Belize River, about 290 km (180 mi), from the Maya Mountains to the sea at Belize City |
| Largest lake | The New River Lagoon, about 13.5 km² (5.2 sq mi), in the north |
| Terrain | A flat, swampy coastal plain; the Maya Mountains in the south; more than 450 cays and three of the Caribbean's four atolls |
| Climate | Tropical — very hot and humid; the rains from May to November, the dry season from February to May |
| Natural hazards | Hurricanes — Hattie in 1961, which moved the capital; Iris in 2001; Lisa in 2022 |
| Natural resources | Arable land, timber, fish, hydropower; a small oilfield at Spanish Lookout since 2005 |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 7–8%; forest about 60% |
| Protected areas | About a third of the country — the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the world's first jaguar reserve (1986); Chiquibul; the Rio Bravo conservation area; Half Moon Caye |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 1 — the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (1996), removed from the List in Danger in 2018 |
| Administrative divisions | 6 districts — Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek and Toledo |
People
| Population | About 422,000 (Factbook, 2025 est.); 397,000 (census of 2022) |
|---|---|
| Population density | About 18 per km² (47 per sq mi) — the lowest in Central America |
| Population growth | About 1.5% a year |
| Median age | About 25 years |
| Life expectancy | About 75 years |
| Fertility rate | About 2.0 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 47% |
| Adult literacy | About 83% |
| Ethnic groups | Mestizo about 53%, Creole about 26%, Maya about 11%, Garifuna about 6%, East Indian, Mennonite and others (2010 census) |
| Languages | English official; Kriol; Spanish; Garifuna; Q'eqchi', Mopan and Yucatec Maya; Plautdietsch among the Mennonites |
| Religion | Roman Catholic about 40%, Protestant about 32%, no religion about 15% (2010 census) |
| Largest towns | Belize City, San Ignacio, Belmopan, Orange Walk, San Pedro, Corozal, Dangriga |
| Human Development Index | 0.721 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high human development |
| Diaspora | About 160,000 Belizeans in the United States — Los Angeles above all |
Government
| Form of government | Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy — a Commonwealth realm, under the Constitution of 1981 |
|---|---|
| Monarch | King Charles III, since 8 September 2022 |
| Governor-General | Dame Froyla Tzalam, since 27 May 2021 — a Mopan Maya anthropologist, the first indigenous governor-general |
| Prime Minister | John Briceño (PUP), since 12 November 2020 — sworn in for a second term on 13 March 2025 |
| The 2025 election | Held early on 12 March 2025: the People's United Party 26 of 31 seats, the United Democratic Party 5 — the same result as 2020 |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Cordel Hyde |
| Opposition | Tracy Panton (UDP), Leader of the Opposition since 14 March 2025 — the first woman in the office |
| Parliament | The National Assembly — the House of Representatives (31 elected) and the Senate (14 appointed); Speaker Valerie Woods |
| Legal system | Common law, on the English model; final appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice since 2010 |
| The Guatemala claim | Guatemala claims about half of Belize's territory; both countries voted in referendums (2018, 2019) to send the dispute to the International Court of Justice, where the case has been pending since June 2019 |
| Defense | The Belize Defence Force, about 1,500; a British Army training presence since independence |
| United Nations | Member since 25 September 1981 |
| Regional memberships | CARICOM (1974) — the only Central American member; the Central American Integration System (SICA); the OAS; the Commonwealth |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$3.6 billion (2025, IMF) |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita | About US$8,500 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$14,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 4–5% (2024–25) |
| Economy by sector | Services about 70%, industry about 15%, agriculture about 10% |
| Currency | Belize dollar (BZD), at BZ$2 to US$1 |
| Tourism | The mainstay — about 40% of GDP with its linkages; the reef, the cays and the Maya sites; cruise passengers at Belize City |
| Agriculture | Sugar from the north, bananas and citrus from the south; the Mennonite farms of Spanish Lookout supply the country's poultry, dairy and grain |
| Exports | Sugar, bananas, citrus concentrate, marine products, crude oil |
| Trade partners | The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Mexico, CARICOM |
| The blue bond | A debt-for-nature swap of 2021 retired US$553 million of debt in exchange for marine conservation pledges — the largest of its kind at the time |
| Income classification | Upper-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airport | Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport, at Ladyville outside Belize City |
|---|---|
| Airlines | Tropic Air and Maya Island Air — the domestic carriers to the cays and the districts |
| Main port | The Port of Belize at Belize City; Big Creek in the south for bananas and oil |
| Roads | About 3,300 km (2,050 mi); four highways — the Philip Goldson to Mexico, the George Price to Guatemala, the Hummingbird and the Southern |
| Railways | None — the Stann Creek Railway closed in 1937 |
| Water taxis | From Belize City to Caye Caulker and San Pedro on Ambergris Caye |
History in dates
| c. 1500 BC | Maya settlement of the lowlands |
|---|---|
| 600–900 | The Classic Maya — Caracol, Xunantunich, Lamanai, Altun Ha |
| 1638 | The traditional date of the first English settlement, by shipwrecked sailors and Baymen |
| 1798 | The Battle of St. George's Caye — the Baymen and their slaves repel a Spanish fleet, 10 September |
| 1838 | Slavery ends |
| 1862 | The Colony of British Honduras |
| 1950 | The People's United Party founded; the independence movement begins |
| 1961 | Hurricane Hattie destroys much of Belize City, 31 October |
| 1964 | Internal self-government |
| 1970 | Belmopan becomes the capital |
| 1973 | British Honduras renamed Belize, 1 June |
| 1981 | Independence, 21 September |
| 1992 | Guatemala recognizes Belize |
| 2019 | The territorial dispute referred to the International Court of Justice |
| 2021 | The blue bond; Froyla Tzalam sworn in as governor-general, 27 May |
| 2025 | The PUP re-elected, 12 March; Briceño's second term |
Records & firsts
| The most colorful flag | Twelve colors — more than any other national flag |
|---|---|
| The reef | The largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere |
| The Great Blue Hole | The world's most famous marine sinkhole — 124 m deep |
| The first jaguar reserve | Cockscomb Basin, 1986 |
| English in Central America | The only country of the isthmus with English as its official language |
| The emptiest country of the isthmus | About 18 people per km² |
| Caana | The Sky Palace of Caracol, 43 m — still the tallest structure in Belize |
| The ATM cave | Actun Tunichil Muknal — the Maya underworld with its crystal maiden |
| A capital moved by a hurricane | Belmopan, after Hattie |
| Belikin and Marie Sharp's | The national beer and the national hot sauce |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Belize?
Belize — no longer form. The country was British Honduras until 1 June 1973, when it took the name of its principal river and its old capital; the name is most often traced to the Maya word for "muddy water," or to the buccaneer Peter Wallace, whose name the Spanish are said to have rendered as Belice.
What is the capital of Belize?
Belmopan, a planned city of about 25,000 in the interior, the capital since 1970 — built after Hurricane Hattie devastated Belize City in 1961. Belize City, on the coast, remains the largest city and the commercial center, with about 65,000 people.
How big is Belize, and how many people live there?
About 22,966 km² (8,867 sq mi) — a little smaller than Massachusetts — with about 420,000 people: 422,000 by the CIA World Factbook's 2025 estimate, 397,000 by the census of 2022. At about 18 people per km² it is the least densely populated country in Central America, and about 60 percent of it is still forest.
What are the highest and lowest points of Belize?
Doyle's Delight, 1,124 m (3,688 ft), in the Maya Mountains of the south — a name from a line in Conan Doyle's The Lost World — is the highest point; Victoria Peak, 1,120 m, was long thought to be. The Caribbean coast is the lowest. Offshore, the Great Blue Hole drops some 124 m (407 ft) into the reef.
What languages does Belize speak?
English is the only official language — Belize is the one country in Central America where it is — but Belizean Kriol is the everyday tongue of most, Spanish is spoken by more than half the population, and Garifuna, three Maya languages (Q'eqchi', Mopan and Yucatec) and the Plautdietsch of the Mennonites are spoken in their communities.
Who governs Belize?
King Charles III is head of state, represented by Governor-General Dame Froyla Tzalam, a Mopan Maya anthropologist in office since 27 May 2021; Prime Minister John Briceño of the People's United Party has led the government since 12 November 2020 and was sworn in for a second term on 13 March 2025 after his party took 26 of the 31 seats on 12 March. Tracy Panton of the United Democratic Party is the first woman to lead the opposition.
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