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Demographics of Belize... |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Racial tension is very uncommon because of the constant admixture of the different ethnic groups. Many people simply identify as "Belizean".
Because of this, the ethnic composition of the country is sometimes hard to determine, but self identified Mestizos comprise 50% of the population, and Kriol 25%. The Indigenous Mayan also make up a good percentage of the Belizean population at 11%. The rest is a mix of Garifuna, Mennonite German farmers, South Asians, other Central Americans, whites from the United States of America, and many other foreign groups brought to assist the country's development.
Not surprisingly, this mix creates an equally interesting mix of language and communication. English is the official language because Belize was a British colony and still has ties to Britain. However, most Belizeans use the more familiar Belize Kriol, a raucous and playful English-based language that contains colourful terms that are usually translatable in English. Spanish has become important as the mother tongue of Mestizo and Central American settlers, and is a second language for much of the country. Less well known are the ancient Maya dialects, Garifuna (which is a mixture of the Carib language, Yoruban, French, and Spanish, and is also spoken in some communities in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua) and the Plautdietsch dialect of the Mennonites.
Literacy currently stands at nearly 80%. |
