Languages
Native
English
63%
Secondary languages
Spanish
56%
Kriol
44%
Language Samples
Hello, how are you?
Hello, how are you?
I am very well, thanks.
I am very well, thanks.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Linguistic History
Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language — a legacy of British colonial presence that began in the 17th century with logging settlements. It gained independence from Britain in 1981, making it one of the last countries in the Americas to do so. Despite English being official, the everyday lingua franca for most Belizeans is Belizean Kriol, an English-based creole with African, Maya, and Garifuna influences. Spanish is widely spoken, especially in the north and west near the Mexican and Guatemalan borders. Belize is also home to the Garifuna people — descendants of Afro-Caribbean and Arawak communities — whose language is a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Similar Languages
Jamaican Patois
78%
Guyanese Creole
75%
British English
88%
Media
Did You Know
01
Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language.
02
Belizean Kriol — not English — is the most widely spoken language day-to-day, used by around 75% of the population as a first or second language.
03
The Garifuna language, spoken by Belize's Garifuna community, is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage — one of the few living Arawakan languages in the Caribbean.
04
Belize was known as British Honduras until independence in 1981, and Guatemala claimed the entire territory until as recently as 1991.