Country · Americas
Belize
Belize is a country in Central America. About 383 000 people live there, in an area of 22 966 square kilometres. Its capital city is Belmopan.
Picture credit: Pitxiquin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Pitxiquin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Josh Gross (CC BY 2.0) · Asdfjrjjj (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Belize?
Belize lies in Central America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 920 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 386 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Guatemala and Mexico.
How big is Belize?
Belize covers 22 966 square kilometres.
That is about 8.9 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 147th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 16.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Belize?
About 383 000 people live in Belize.
That is the 170th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Belizean Creole, English and Spanish.
They pay with the Belize dollar ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Belize
The land of Belize sits on average 173 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 386 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 19 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Belize different?
A dish the country is known for: Boil up.
Websites from here often end in .bz.
Belize and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Belize.
It takes up about 0.02 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 24th of 35 by size, and 28th by population.
Belize and its neighbours
Mexico, its largest neighbour, is about 85.5 times bigger.
Mexico has more people: 126.2 million against 383 000.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 6 live wild in Belize: Ruby-throated hummingbird, Manatee, Lined seahorse, Virginia opossum, Stony coral and Black-handed spider monkey. The highest mountain in the country is Doyle's Delight, at 1 124 metres. The longest river in the country is the Belize River. The largest lake in the country is New River Lagoon.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Belize compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 408 times as big as Belize: 9 372 610 km² against 22 966 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 11 times as big as Belize: 242 900 km² against 22 966 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Belize?
The capital of Belize is Belmopan. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Belize?
About 383 000 people live in Belize, which makes it the 170th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Belize?
Belize covers 22 966 square kilometres, making it the 147th largest country in the world. That is about 8.9 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Belize?
The highest mountain in Belize is Doyle's Delight, 1 124 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Belize?
The longest river in Belize is the Belize River, about 290 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Belize?
The largest lake in Belize is New River Lagoon. It covers about 14 km².
Which continent is Belize in?
Belize is in Americas, in the part called Central America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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