Belize is located in Central America as a Caribbean country bordered by Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and Guatemala. The country covers 8,867 square miles and 408,487 people live there, according to 2019 numbers. As such, it has the lowest population among Central America. That said, the population growth rate of Belize is 1.87% per year, which is one of the highest growth rates in the Western Hemisphere. Belize became a British colony called the British Honduras in 1840 and then became a Crown colony in 1862. In September of 1981, Belize achieved independence from the United Kingdom.