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( Belize)
Belize (pronounced /b?'li?z/), formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Mayan, and very briefly the Spanish Empire, it was most recently affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in 1981. The country is bordered to the south and west by Guatemala, to the north by Mexico, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. It is the only country in Central America where English is an official language, although Kriol and Spanish are also widely spoken. With 8,867 square miles (22,960 km²) of territory and 320,000 people (2008 est.),[2] the population density is the lowest in the Central American region and one of the lowest in the world. The country's population growth rate, 2.21% (2008 est.),[3] is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. It remains a Commonwealth realm. The origin of the name Belize is unclear, but one idea is that the name is from the Maya word belix, meaning "muddy water," applied to the Belize River. Before the arrival of Europeans, Belize was part of the territory of the Maya. The Mopan Maya were the original inhabitants of Belize. The Maya civilization spread itself over Belize beginning around 1500 BC and flourished until about AD 900. In the late classic period of Maya civilization (before A.D. 1000), as many as 400,000 people may have lived in the area that is now Belize. Some lowland Maya still occupied the area when Europeans arrived in the 1500s. Spanish colonists tried to settle the inland areas of Belize, but they abandoned these efforts following Maya rebellion against Spanish authority.
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