Belize is the second smallest country in Central America. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 sq. km) of territory and only 291,800 people, the population density in Belize is also the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world.

Belize is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1961 Hurricane Hattie inflicted significant damage upon Belize, particularly on the coastal capital Belize city which is situated below sea level. The government decided the location of the capital was too risky and so over several years, the British colonial government designed a new capital Belmopan, at the exact geographic centre of the country, and in 1970 began slowly moving the governing offices there.

The Mayan civilization spread into the area of Belize between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 300 and flourished until about A.D. 1200. Several major archeological sites including Caracol and Lamanai reflect the advanced civilization and much denser population of that period.

Belize was a British colony for more than a century and was known as British Honduras until 1973. It became an independent nation in 1981

The second-largest barrier reef in the world (185 miles long) and three of the four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere fall within Belize's territory.

Belize boasts a rich mix of ethnicities including Creole, Maya, Mestizo, East Indian, Chinese, Garifuna and Mennonite.

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Ninety-three percent of Belize's land mass is under forest and it also possesses the largest cave system in Central America. Forty-two percent of its territory falls under some form of official protected status.

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