Why is belize an english speaking country

This one might surprise you, but Honduras has the second-most English proficiency in Spanish speaking Central America third if you include Belize.

Elsewhere in Honduras, many people have relatives living in the United States and English often filters back that way. Over 2. In short, some one in four Salvadorans live in the U. Both countries come in with an equal points.

Lots of English needed there. Next comes Guatemala on the list. Speaking of learning Spanish, Guatemala is popular with foreigners for that, too. English is down the list in Guatemala. When talking about English speaking countries in Central America, it should come as no surprise that Nicaragua ranks the lowest. Only Costa Rica and Panama have smaller immigrant populations living in the U. The tourist towns of Granada and San San Juan del Sur still have large expat populations who live, breathe, eat, and drink in English.

Ditto the Corn Islands. Find more statistics at Statista. Scholars have suggested war, famine, drought, religious unrest or perhaps a series of natural disasters. Old Spanish galleons. The very first European settlement was in , when pirates from Scotland and England used the coast line of Belize as a place to lay low.

This population of rugged individuals began to grow in when disbanded English soldiers, shipwrecked sailors and various buccaneers established permanent bases in Belize. During the next years the British settlements began to specialise in logging, producing dyes and strong mahogany.

However, their life was anything but peaceful. Constant incursions from the neighbouring Spanish settlements, and battles with the Spanish galleons passing through Central America to Europe left the land in a constant state of unrest.

This treaty allowed the British to continue harvesting timber, and in exchange the Spanish had a promise of protection for their precious galleons. During this period, the British began shipping over African slaves to help with the logging and the extraction of the dyes. In , the boundaries of the British within Belize were affirmed by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

English is not the only language spoken in Belize — nearly half of the population is fluent in an impressive three languages: English, Spanish, and Kriol. Although Belize was first settled by the Maya around B. E, the country was colonized by the British in the s and eventually became the Colony of British Honduras, which is why English wound up as the official language.

In , Belize won full independence, but the official language of English stuck. English is used for official documents and formal written communications, whereas Setswana is primarily used as a spoken language. Including English and Setswana, there are over 30 different languages spoken throughout diverse Botswana. Africa: The 10 best places to go and what to do there.

Guyana is the only country in South America with English as the official language. This is a leftover byproduct of British colonization — Guyana gained independence in Although English is the official language, most Guyanese have Guyanese Creole as a first language.