Diaspora · Central America · Caribbean coast

Belize

Capital · Belmopan

Central America's only English-speaking country — Kriol along the coast, Garifuna drumming in the south, and the second-longest barrier reef on earth.

🇧🇿 Belmopan
The essentials

Belize at a glance

Capital
Belmopan
Region
Central America · Caribbean coast
Currency
Belize dollar (BZD)
Languages
English · Belizean Kriol · Spanish · Garifuna
Dialling code
+501
Status
Sovereign nation
The thread back

The African connection

Africans were brought to cut logwood and mahogany rather than sugar, which shaped a different society. The Garifuna, exiled from Saint Vincent, landed here in 1802 and their arrival is now a national holiday.

Plan around it

Key dates for Belize

The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.

Sep 21Independence DayFrom Britain, 1981
Nov 19Garifuna Settlement DayRe-enacted landings at Dangriga
Sep 10St George's Caye Day
One family

Diaspora meets diaspora

AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.

If you are from Belize and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.

Every Asian country →
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The Belize channel

Every entry in the diaspora section has its own free channel in the Hub, alongside the 108 country channels and the topic rooms.

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