Although the official language is English, the majority of the population now speaks Spanish. About 25% of the population speaks Creole, a language derived from a mixture of English and various African languages.
Most schools are government-supported denominational schools, chiefly Roman Catholic. Approximately 50% of the population is Roman Catholic; 27% is Protestant, including Anglican, Methodist, Mennonite, Seventh-Day Adventist, Pentecostal, and Jehovah's Witness. There are also small groups of Mormons and Bahai.
The economy is chiefly agricultural (sugar and bananas are the major exports), supplemented by fishing, small-scale industry (fertilizer, beverages, cigarettes and food processing), merchandising, and most recently, tourism and construction. The United States and the United Kingdom are Belize's biggest trading partners. The unit of currency is the Belize dollar.
Political Background
Belize, a member of the British Commonwealth, has a Westminster-style parliamentary system. A British colony until 1981, known until 1973 as British Honduras, Belize became independent in 1981. Queen Elizabeth II is the formal head of state, represented in Belize by an appointed governor-general (since November 1993, Sir Colville Young, Sr.) who plays a ceremonial role.
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