Belize
Flag Coat of arms
Motto Sub Umbra Floreo  (Latin) "Under the Shade I Flourish"
Anthem "Land of the Free" Royal anthem "God Save the Queen"
Capital		Belmopan 17°15′N, 88°46′W
Largest city		Belize City
Official languages		English
Demonym		Belizean
Government		Parliamentary democracy
-	Monarch	Elizabeth II
-	Governor-General	Sir Colville Young
-	Prime Minister	Rt. Hon. Said Musa
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Date	September 21, 1981
Area
-	Total	22,966 km² (150th) 8,867 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.7
Population
-	(July 2007 est.) estimate	297,651 (174th²)
-	Density	12 /km² (203rd²) 31 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$2.098 billion (163rd)
-	Per capita	$8,400 (76th)
HDI (2003)		0.753 (medium) (91st)
Currency		Dollar (BZD)
Time zone		(UTC-6)
Internet TLD		.bz
Calling code		+501
1	Significant numbers of people speak Spanish and Kriol. Spanish was nominated as an official language, but was discarded to evade confusion between languages.
2	These ranks are based on the 2005 figures.

Belize (IPA: ) is the only official English speaking country in Central America. Belize was a British colony for more than a century and was known as British Honduras until 1973. It became an independent nation within The Commonwealth in 1981. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA) and considers itself to be culturally both Caribbean and Central American. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 km²) of territory and only 294,385 people (Belize CSO, 2007 mid year est.), the population density is the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world. However, the country's growth rate is 3.5% (2006 est.).

Belize Pictures