The population is 322,100 (mid-2008). The country is a melting pot of many races, and over the years the muliti-racial make-up has expanded through the influx of many people of Central America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. The main ethnic groups are: Mestizo, Creole, Ketchi, Yucatec and Mopan Mayas, Garifuna and (East) Indians.

English is the official language. However, English Creole is widely spoken. Spanish is also common and is taught in schools. In the south, there are people whose first language is Garifuna or Maya.

Numerous ruins indicate that for hundreds of years Belize was heavily populated by the Mayans, whose relatively advanced civilization reached its height between 250AD and 900AD. Its decline left behind small groups whose offsprings still exist in Belize, contributing to the culturally diverse population. The first reference to European settlement here was in 1638. These were later augmented by disbanded British soldiers and sailors after the capture of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. In 1763 Spain, with the Treaty of Paris, allowed the British settlers to engage in the logwood industry here. The Treaty of Versailles in 1783 reaffirmed those boundaries, and logwood concession was extended by the Convention of London in 1786. The decisive victory against the Spanish was won by the settlers, with British naval support, in the Battle of St. George's Caye in 1798. After that, British control over the settlement gradually increased, and in 1871 British Honduras was formally declared a British Colony, with the Crown Colony System of Government introduced. The Legislative Assembly was replaced by a nominated Legislative Council, presided over by a Lieutenant Governor. The administrative connection with Jamaica was severed in 1884, with the appointment of a Governor. Further constitutional advances came in 1954 with the introduction of universal adult suffrage. The Ministerial System was adopted in 1961 leading up to Self Government in 1964. The country's name was changed to Belize on 1st June 1973. Independence was achieved on 21 September 1981, along with a new constitution.