50 free Belize trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Belize is the odd one out in Central America: English-speaking, a Commonwealth realm with a king, and more Caribbean than Latin in feel. It is also tiny, less than half a million people, yet it packs in the second-largest barrier reef on Earth, a giant blue sinkhole Jacques Cousteau put in his top five dive sites, the first jaguar reserve in the world, Maya cities bigger than its modern towns and a capital that was purpose-built after a hurricane flattened the old one. This quiz covers geography (why did the capital move inland?), history (logwood cutters, the Battle of St. George's Caye, British Honduras, independence in 1981, the Guatemala dispute), symbols (the flag with two woodcutters, the pegged dollar, the tapir and toucan), culture (Garifuna Settlement Day, punta, Kriol, Mennonites) and food (rice and beans, fry jacks, habanero sauce). Questions range from easy to expert. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and other reference pages before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital of Belize?
Belmopan
It is the smallest capital by population in the continental Americas and one of the newest in the world.
Q 02Belize is the only country in Central America where which language is official?
English
Kriol, Spanish and Maya languages are widely spoken too, and over half of Belizeans are multilingual.
Q 03Which two countries share a land border with Belize?
Mexico and Guatemala
Honduras is a neighbour only by sea, across the Gulf of Honduras.
Q 04Under what colonial name was Belize known until 1973?
British Honduras
It became a Crown colony in 1862, subordinate to Jamaica, and was renamed on 1 June 1973.
Q 05Belize gained independence from Britain on 21 September of which year?
1981
Its western neighbour refused to recognise it and about 1,500 British troops stayed to guard the border.
Q 06Which Category 5 hurricane devastated Belize City in 1961 and led to the capital being moved inland?
Hattie
It destroyed about three-quarters of the city's houses; the new capital was built 80 km inland in 1970.
Q 07Belize has the world's second-longest coral barrier. Which country has the longest?
Australia
It is a 300 km section of the Mesoamerican reef system that runs from Cancún to Honduras.
Q 08Which French explorer made Belize's Great Blue Hole famous by naming it a top-five dive site?
Jacques Cousteau
The sinkhole is 318 m across and 124 m deep, in the middle of Lighthouse Reef atoll.
Q 09Roughly how deep is Belize's Great Blue Hole?
124 m
It formed as a limestone cave during the ice ages, when sea levels were far lower, and flooded as they rose.
Q 10In December 2010, Belize became the first country in the world to completely ban what?
Bottom trawling
It later added a permanent moratorium on offshore oil activity in all its waters in 2017.
Q 11Belize's flag is one of only two national flags to depict human beings. Which is the other?
Malta
Belize's coat of arms shows two woodcutters beside a tree, an axe and a paddle.
Q 12Belize's national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo, translates as what?
Under the shade I flourish
The shade is that of the national tree, whose timber trade built the colony.
Q 13Which tree, on the coat of arms, is the national tree of Belize?
Mahogany
It is also the Dominican Republic's national tree, and appears twice on the Belizean coat of arms.
Q 21Xunantunich, whose name means "Maiden of the Rock", is said to be haunted by what?
A woman's ghost on its main pyramid
Sightings began in 1892; the site sits within 1 km of the Guatemalan border and is reached by hand-cranked ferry.
Q 22A drawing of a temple at which Maya site is the logo of Belikin, Belize's leading beer?
Altun Ha
A large carved jade head of the sun god was found there in 1968 and is a national treasure.
Q 23Actun Tunichil Muknal cave in the Cayo District is famous for the "Crystal Maiden", which is what?
A calcified skeleton, probably a sacrifice victim
Q 14Which animal, known locally as the "mountain cow", is the national animal of Belize?
Baird's tapir
It is the largest native land mammal in Central and South America.
Q 15What is the national bird of Belize?
Keel-billed toucan
Its rainbow bill makes up about a third of its total length.
Q 16Which flower, also called the clamshell, is Belize's national flower?
Black orchid
Its scientific name is Prosthechea cochleata.
Q 17Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was the world's first reserve created to protect which animal?
The jaguar
It covers about 400 km2 of the Maya Mountains and is considered the premier jaguar site on Earth.
Q 18Belize's highest peak is named for a quote from the 1912 novel The Lost World. Who wrote it?
Arthur Conan Doyle
It edged out Victoria Peak, long thought the highest, by just 4 metres; some want to rename it Kaan Witz, "Sky Mountain".
Q 19Which ancient Maya city in Belize holds the country's tallest structure, Caana?
Caracol
Its 43 m "sky palace" is still the tallest man-made structure in Belize.
Q 20Which Maya site's name means "submerged crocodile", after the reptiles in the New River beside it?
Lamanai
It was occupied for some 3,500 years, from the 16th century BC into the 17th century AD.
The sparkling bones are believed to belong to a 17-year-old boy; visitors must remove shoes to walk inside.
Q 24Belize's currency has been pegged to the US dollar at what rate?
BZ$2 = US$1
It was renamed along with the country in 1973.
Q 25Where was the 1798 clash in which Baymen and their slaves repelled a Spanish fleet, marked each 10 September?
St. George's Caye
It was Spain's last attempt to seize the settlement; the day honours the "first Belizeans".
Q 26The first British settlers in Belize made their living cutting which tree, used to make dye?
Logwood
It yielded a fixing agent for a fast black dye before artificial dyes existed; a finer hardwood trade came later.
Q 27Which southern town hosts the main Settlement Day festivities marking the 1832 arrival of exiles from St Vincent?
Dangriga
The holiday was created by activist Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941 and made national in 1977.
Q 28Punta, the signature dance music of Belize, comes from which people?
The Garifuna
Punta rock added electric guitars; its late star Andy Palacio won a WOMEX award in 2007.
Q 29Roughly what share of Belizeans speak Kriol, the local creole?
About 45%
It is even used in meetings of the House of Representatives, despite having no official status.
Q 30Which German-speaking religious group is Belize's largest white minority and runs much of its farming?
Mennonites
Over 13,000 speak Plautdietsch, a Low German dialect; most arrived from Mexico after 1958.