20 Amazing Facts About BelizePosted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
In this blog post, we bring to you 20 amazing facts about beautiful Belize.
Belize is the only Central American Country where English is the official language. Apart from English, there are many recognized regional languages: Kriol, Spanish, Garifuna, and Mayan.
September 10 in Belize is celebrated as the National Day or St George’s Caye Day. On this day in 1798, Spanish forces were repelled by the British in the Battle of St George’s Caye, with no reported casualties on either side.
Belize has a private enterprise economy that is largely dependent on agriculture, agro-based industry and merchandising. However tourism and construction and the recent discovery of oil field have presented new prospects for the country. The estimated GDP of the country is 1.354 billion dollars and the major trading partners are the United States of America, Mexico, Central America and the European Union.
Belize obtained its independence from the United Kingdom on September 21, 1981. George Cadle Price was the first prime minister of Belize and he served from 12 September 1981 to 17 December 1984.
The currency of Belize is Belize dollar and its ISO 3166 code is BZ. Since 1978, the official value is pegged at 2 BZD = 1 US dollar.
Belmopan is the capital of Belize and its name derives from the union of two words: “Belize” and “Mopan”. After the devastating Hurricane Hattie destroyed the former capital, Belize City, in 1961, the government was shifted to Belmopan in 1970.
Belize has the only Jaguar reserve in the world which is known as Cockscomb Basin Wildlife sanctuary.
The islands in Belize are called Cayes (pronounced “keys”) and total around 450 including those on the outer atolls.
Belize has around 900 Maya temple sites.
The largest city of Belize is located at the mouth of the river Belize River and is known as Belize City. It has an estimated population of 79,600 and is the main port and the industrial hub of the country. It was discovered in the mid-17th Century by British lumber harvesters and was the capital of British Honduras.
The total land area of Belize is 8,867 square miles or 22,700 square kilometers. The country’s greatest length, north to south, is 170 miles (274 km) and its greatest width, east to west, is 68 miles (109 km). Using an offshore territorial limit of 20 km, the country covers 46,620 km2 (18,000 sq mi), of which only 49% is land.
Belize is in the Central Standard Time zone and does not observe daylight saving time.
Belize is subtropical, with a mean annual temperature of 80o F.
The first people to inhabit Belize were the Maya around 1500 B.C.E. As shown in archeological records, they established a number of settlements such as Caracol, Lamanai and Lubaantun.
Belize’s Black Howler Monkeys are one of the top 10 loudest animals in the world.
See also: 12 Incredible Belize Vacation Photos
Some of the exotic names for Belize’s natural wonders include the Owl-Eye Butterfly, the Blue Morpho Butterfly, the Swallow Tail Cattle Heart Butterfly, the Peanut-Head Lantern Bug, the Red-footed Booby Bird, the Lady-of-the-Night Orchid and the False Vampire Bat.
Close to 1 million tourists’ visit Belize annually of which 70% of are Americans.
Belize is one of the least populated countries in the world.
Ambergris Caye, which is 25 miles long, is Belize’s largest and most developed island.
More than 400 species of fish live in the waters of Belize’s 185-mile long Barrier Reef.
For more information about travelling to Belize, feel free to chat with our Concierge at: email@example.com or contact our Reservations Manager at: firstname.lastname@example.org. Or perhaps you would like to call toll free from the US or Canada: 1-866-417-2377.
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