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The official language of Belize is English, which is the sole language of instruction in its school systems. Around 80% of the population is literate in English and as much as 90% of the population is able to speak some English. The most common language however is Kriol (Belizean Creole). Kriol is the lingua franca in much of the country and is spoken by nearly everyone in Belize as either a first- or second-language (95% of all people in Belize City speak Belizean Creole and English solely). Overall Kriol is spoken by 70% of the entire population as a first language (with around 20% speaking Creole solely and not Standard English). The next most widely spoken language is Spanish, which is spoken by approximately 43% of the population (according to the 2000 census) as a first or second language, although in Orange Walk and Corozal Districts, Spanish is the majority language (60%). In cities like Belize City and Belmopan and their surrounding areas, English and Kriol are the primary languages. This is mostly because of the large British influence and tourism from the United States. There are other languages that are common as a first language in certain areas: Garifuna in the south, the Kekchi and Mopan Maya languages in the west, and Yucatec Maya in the north. The 2000 census also estimated that around 70% of all Belizeans were bilingual or even trilingual.
| Languages in Belize according to 2000 Census |
| Language |
Mother tongue speakers |
Percentage |
Current users |
Percentage |
| Belizean Kriol |
67,527 |
32.9% |
75,822 |
37,0% |
| Chinese |
1,607 |
0.8% |
1,529 |
0.7% |
| English |
7,946 |
3.9% |
11,551 |
5.6% |
| Garifuna |
6,929 |
3.4% |
4,071 |
2.0% |
| German |
6,783 |
3.3% |
6.624 |
3.2% |
| Hindi |
280 |
0.1% |
193 |
0.1% |
| Ketchi |
10,142 |
4.9% |
9,314 |
4.5% |
| Mopan |
6,909 |
3.4% |
6,093 |
3.0% |
| Spanish |
94,422 |
46.0% |
88,121 |
43.0% |
| Yucatec Maya |
1,176 |
0.6% |
613 |
0.3% |
| Others/no answer |
1,402 |
0.7% |
1,192 |
0.6% |
[edit] References
- Belize- Language [1]
- Ethnologue report for Belize [2]
[edit] See also
