Where is Belize?
If you are reading this, you are probably thinking about moving to Belize, so when planning my first article for Belize FAQs, I decided to try to give an introduction to Belize, sort of a definition of the country.
However, one of the reasons that I find the country so interesting is that while it is quite small in terms of both its physical size and population, Belize is a very diverse country. For example, even when trying to categorize the country geographically and geopolitically, I ran into trouble, as while one can see that Belize is located in Central America, it is also a member state of CARICOM, the community of Caribbean nations, and these are two very distinct geopolitical communities.
Who lives in Belize?
This question is, of course, easy to answer, Belizeans live here! However, when one digs just a little deeper, things get a bit more complicated. The largest ethnic group in Belize, at around 53% of Belizeans, are Mestizo, which are people of mixed Spanish and Mayan descent.
Creole people make up the second largest segment of the population at 26% of the population, and in Belize, any person of at least partial Black African descent, who is not Garinagu, or any person who speaks Kriol as a first or sole language, is considered to be Creole.
Mayan people account for around 11% of the population, and there are three distinct groups of Mayans in Belize, the Yucatec, Mopan, and Q’eqchi’ Maya. Each of these groups has its own language and distinct cultural traits.
The Garifuna people, also known as Garinagu, are descendants of an Afro-indigenous population from the Caribbean island of St Vincent who were exiled to the Honduran coast in the eighteenth century and subsequently moved to Belize. Dangriga in southern Belize has the greatest concentration of Garifuna people. The Garifuna have a distinct language and culture, including the dances and drumming which are practiced anywhere there is a cluster of Garifuna living in Belize.
Two smaller, but quite recognizable ethnic groups in Belize, are the East Indians and Mennonites, most of whom emigrated to Belize while it was still British Honduras. While each of these groups make up less than 4% of the population, they each represent a powerful force in the Belizean economy.
In more recent years, there has been a fairly large number of both North Americans and Lebanese people who have emigrated to the country. There is a fairly large community of Lebanese people on the island Ambergris Caye, and North Americans have settled in many parts of the country, but the majority of them likely live in the more highly-touristed areas of Ambergris Caye and Placencia, with others scattered in more rural parts of the country.
One final bit of demographics which I find to be really interesting is that according to the US State Department, around 160,000 Belizeans live in the US. Since Belize has a total population of only around 416,000, I was really surprised when I discovered that so many Belizeans are now living in the US.
What’s the climate like in Belize?
Belize is located in the tropics, so the entire country has a tropical climate; however, there can be big differences in both daily high temperatures and rainfall, depending on where you are in Belize. In general, it is hotter inland and a bit cooler near the coast.
Rainfall in Belize varies a great deal from north to south. In northern Belize, in the Corozal district near the Mexican border, the average annual rainfall is about 50 inches, but average rainfall increases as you travel south. For example, Belize City sees about 75 inches of rain per year while Punta Gorda, in southern Belize, has around 175 inches of rain per year.
One of the reasons I chose to live in northern Belize is that I didn’t want to deal with as much heavy rain during the hurricane season.
Is it really that hot in Belize?
Belize has two basic seasons, the dry season and the rainy/hurricane season. The rainy season is the hottest time of the year, and it runs from June through November. During the rainy season, in many parts of the country, there is very little difference in daytime and nighttime temperatures and humidity levels, so if it is 87 degrees with 90% humidity during the day, it is likely to be just as hot at night. Many folks find the hot, sticky nights to be very uncomfortable, and it doesn’t help that rainy season also means mosquito season as well!
Tropical storms and hurricanes are usually more active toward the end of the rainy season, and this is when some parts of the country are prone to experience flooding.
The most comfortable time of the year in much of Belize is likely the early part of the dry season, January through March, this is one reason that these months are also high season for tourism. Temperatures and humidity are generally lower, and there is often a breeze, which not only cools things down, but also drastically cuts down on the mosquito population.
What is Kite Season?
In many parts of Belize, just around Easter, the winds really pick up, and people refer to this as kite season, and while it may not be the best time for water sports like snorkeling and kayaking because of the wind waves and heavy gusts, local kids really enjoy flying their homemade kites!
Do people in Belize really speak English?
The answer to this question is yes, but . . .
While English is the official language in Belize, and children are taught in English in schools, the vast majority of Belizeans speak a language other than English at home. The most common languages spoken at home are Spanish, in places like Corozal in northern Belize and the island of Ambergris Caye, and Belizean Kriol in Belize’s most populated city, Belize City.
When I first moved to Belize, I lived in San Pedro, and because Ambergris Caye is the largest tourism market in the country, all of the employees in the tourism industry spoke English, and it was common to hear English spoken on the streets as there were always so many tourists around. However, since I lived in a local neighborhood in San Pedro, I was surrounded by Belizean neighbors, so it did not take long for me to discover that everyone spoke Spanish at home.
I also learned that in the construction business on the islands there are many workers from Guatemala, and many of these folks do not speak English at all. And since I have moved to Corozal, in northern Belize near the Mexican border, I have noticed that I hear little English when I am out in town. People will speak to me in English, but with each other, they are always speaking Spanish.
I have met a number of Belizeans from Belize City, and they say that in the city, they spoke Kriol almost 100% of the time. While I have been studying Spanish for around five years now, even as a former language teacher, I can’t seem to get my head around Kriol, and this despite the fact that I lived for 15 years on Kauai where Hawaiians spoke their own form of pidgin, and I picked up a bit of it through the years.
Again, English is the official language of Belize, and anywhere you go to conduct business, you will be able to communicate. However, now that I realize that almost everyone here speaks a language other than English at home, I wish that I had studied Spanish for a year before making the move; there is just something special about being able to communicate with people in their first language, the language in which they are most comfortable.
Introduction to Belize final thoughts
While I realize that I have already written a bit more than I had planned for this first post to Belize FAQS, I also know that I have barely scratched the surface while trying to define or describe this interesting, quirky, beautiful country. If you are ready for your first visit to Belize, check out our Belize Visa Questions article, to find out what is required for your visit and just how long you can stay in this beautiful country.
I guess this means that I will need to put together a few more posts for this Belize Basics category. Please feel free to contact me and let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see here.
To see our complete list of articles concerning moving to Belize, living in Belize, and the lifestyle of different folks who have made the move, check out our Belize FAQs Blog Page.