Belize is located on the east coast of Central America with the Caribbean Sea to its east. Mexico borders Belize to the northeast and Guatemala to the west and south. Belize is about the same size as New Hampshire.
Belize has a parliamentary democracy form of government and is part of the British Commonwealth. As such, Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign of the country and is represented locally by the Governor General.
The country was originally named British Honduras when it was established as a British colony in 1840. It was granted full internal self-government in 1964 and the country’s name was changed to Belize in 1973.
The capital, Belmopan, is located in the approximate center of the country. Belize is the only Central American country without a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and is also the only English-speaking country in Central America. The country’s currency is the Belizean dollar.
The 2007 estimate of the population is 294,385 with a population growth rate of 2.26 percent. Belizeans have a current life expectancy of 70.16 years.
English is the official language of Belize; other languages spoken are Spanish, Mayan, Carib and Creole. Belize has a 94.1 percent literacy rate of people over the age of 15.
Roman Catholic and Protestant are the dominant religions with over 75 percent of the population. Other religions include Pentecostal, Anglican, and Seventh-Day Adventist.
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