Belize City

Belize City
Belize City
City
	City of Belize
	From top; left to right: St. John's Cathedral, the Government House, the CARICOM Flag Monument, the Bliss Institute, Aerial of Belize City, Princess Hotel and Casino, the Central Bank of Belize, High Court Building and the Swing Bridge
	Flag
	Etymology: From the Belize River, corruption of Balis, word that comes from the Mayan language.
	Nicknames: The Old Capital, The City
	Belize City Belize City Belize City Belize City Belize City
	Coordinates: 17°29′55″N 88°11′19″W / 17.49861°N 88.18861°W
Country	Belize
District	Belize
Settled	1638 (as a camp); 1650s (as a port); 1783 (as a town)
Incorporated	1783 (as capital); 1981 (as a city)
Founded by	Peter Wallace
Named for	Peter Wallace
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Body	City Council
• Mayor	Bernard Wagner (PUP)
• Belize Parliament	10 constituencies; Barrow; Musa; Erlington; Faber; Finnegan; Fonseca; Hyde; Panton; Martinez; Musa;
Area
• Total	13.77 sq mi (35.7 km2)
Elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2024 estimate)
• Total	65,222
• Density	4,700/sq mi (1,800/km2)
Demonym	Belizean
Time zone	UTC−6 (GMT-6)
Website	belizecitycouncil.org

Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people.^[3] It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a distributary of the Belize River. The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea eight kilometres (five miles) from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in October 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore. It was the capital of British Honduras (as Belize was then named) until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.^[4]

^ "Belize City, Belize". Google Maps. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
^ "History". Belize City Council. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
^ "Belize: Districts, Towns & Villages - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
^ "belmopanbelize.com". belmopanbelize.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.

[1] "Belize City, Belize". Google Maps. Retrieved 20 August 2011.

[belizecitycouncil.org-2] "History". Belize City Council. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

[3] "Belize: Districts, Towns & Villages - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 25 October 2024.

[bmp-4] "belmopanbelize.com". belmopanbelize.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.

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