Cultural Demography
The most sparsely populated nation in Central America -- numbering around 345,000 people -- and the second smallest in area (El Salvador is the smallest), Belize is about the size of the state of Massachusetts in the United States. Just over half of its population lives in rural areas, and approximately one-fourth live in Belize City, Belize's principal port, commercial center and former capital. The new capital of Belmopan is far from being the largest city in terms of population.
The Maya are descendants of the original inhabitants of Belize and today, Maya are still represented in the population base. The indigenous population aside, most Belizeans are of multiracial descent. About 44 percent of the population is of mixed Maya and European descent (mestizo), 31 percent are of African and Afro-European (Creole) ancestry, about 11 percent are Mayan, and about seven percent are Afro-Amerindian (Garifuna). The latter group, the Garifuna, are of African and indigenous Carib ancestry. The remainder, less than 10 percent, includes European, East Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and North American groups. The overall population of Belize increased dramatically in the 1990s due to the influx of Central American refugees and other immigrants, mostly from Guatemala and El Salvador.
English, the official language is spoken by virtually the entire population, with the exception of recent immigrants and refugees. Spanish is spoken by about 50 percent of the population as a native tongue, and by another 20 percent of the population as a second language. The result is a high degree of de facto bilingualism. In addition, most Belizeans speak a Creole dialect, similar to the Patois spoken in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Belize, and most practitioners are Roman Catholic. Anglicans and other Protestant denominations, including a significant number of Mennonite settlers, make up the other Christian sects.
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, Belize's infant mortality rate is 22.5 deaths to 1,000 live births, according to a recent estimate. The life expectancy at birth of the total population was estimated in recent years to be around 68.2 years of age. The literacy rate in Belize varies according to source, but the Central Intelligence Agency estimates it ranges around 77 percent.
One notable measure used to determine a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human deve lopment: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed Belize in the high human development category, at 78th place -- up significantly from 95th place two years prior.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief at CountryWatch.com. See Bibliography for general research sources.