Belize is located on the eastern coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Covering 22,806 square kilometers (8,805 square miles), Belize is the second smallest nation in Central America and the only one without a Pacific coastline. Belize is also the only English-speaking country in Central America, and with approximately 291,800 people, the least densely populated. Known as “British Honduras” until 1973, Belize was a British colony for more than a century before gaining independence on September 21, 1981.

Belize's landscape is marked by diverse topography. The northern region is primarily tableland covered by scrub vegetation and hardwood tropical forest. A narrow coastal plain, much of it covered with mangrove ...