Nearby Users
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Belize
former: British Honduras
22,966 km²
Belmopan
Belizean dollar (BZD)
501
.bz
Spanish, Creole, Mayan dialects, English, Garifuna, German, unknown
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, Seventh-Day Adventist, Mennonite, Methodist, Jehovah's Witnesses
294,385
parliamentary democracy
blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include an unsustainable foreign debt, high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, growing urban crime, and increasing incidences of HIV/AIDS.
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)
