Belize is located on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America. It shares a border on the north with the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on the west with the Guatemalan department of Petén, and on the south with the Guatemalan department of Izabal.
Belize occupies a total area of around 22,966 square kilometers of which the total land area comes to around 22,800 square kilometer.
According to the last available estimates, the population of Belize is approximately 294,385.
The Caribbean coast is lined with a coral reef and some 450 islets and islands known locally as Cayes (pronounced "keys"). They total about 270 sq miles, and form the 200 sq mile long Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the Western Hemisphere and the second longest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef. Three of the four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere are also located off the coast of Belize.
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