Languages of Belize

Languages of Belize
Languages of Belize
	Sign in English at Xunantunich, with the Mayan name translated into English
Official	English
Indigenous	Q'eqchi', Mopan, Yucatec Maya
Vernacular	Belizean English, Belizean Spanish, Belizean Creole
Foreign	Spanish, German, Garifuna, Plautdietsch
Signed	American Sign Language

The major languages spoken in Belize include English, Spanish and Kriol, all three spoken by more than 40% of the population. Mayan languages are also spoken in certain areas.

English is the official language and the primary language of public education, though spoken natively by a minority of people as a first language. Spanish is taught in primary and secondary schools as well. Bilingualism is very common. The percentage of literacy in Belize as of 2021 is 82.68% for those aged 15 or older.^[1]

Languages spoken in Belize (2010)^[2]^[3]
Language	speakers	percentage
English	183,903	62.9%
Spanish	165,296	56.6%
Belizean Creole	130,467	44.6%
Q'eqchi' Maya	17,581	6.0%
Mopan Maya	10,649	3.6%
German*	9,364	3.2%
Garifuna	8,442	2.9%
Other languages	7,847	2.7%
N.A.	1,537	0.5%
Total	292,263	100%

*German includes Plautdietsch and Standard German

^ "Belize Population". Countrymeters. Archived from the original on 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
^ These figures are for people at least 4 years old.
^ Statistical Institute of Belize (2013). Belize Population and Housing Census 2010: Country Report (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2018-02-17.

[1] "Belize Population". Countrymeters. Archived from the original on 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-20.

[2] These figures are for people at least 4 years old.

[:0-3] Statistical Institute of Belize (2013). Belize Population and Housing Census 2010: Country Report (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2018-02-17.

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