Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

has 247 recognized municipalities, consisting of 2 cities, 7 towns, and 238 villages. Each type of municipality has a different

form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

as defined by Title VIII of the Laws of Belize. The largest municipality by population in Belize is

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

with a population of 57,164. The smallest municipalities by population are the villages of Estrella and Honey Camp, each with 37 residents.

Cities and towns

There are two cities (

and

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas (by population) and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Fou ...

) and seven towns in Belize.Government of Belize - Local Government
/ref> As of 2000, the seven towns are Benque Viejo del Carmen, Corozal Town,

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the ...

, Orange Walk Town, Punta Gorda, San Ignacio, and San Pedro. City and town councils consist of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and a number of councillors (ten in

, six in

and the towns). Mayors and councillors are directly elected to three-year terms, using the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system. The mayor (except in Belize City) acts as the chief executive of the city or town, and allocates portfolios to the other councillors. City and town councils have a wide range of functions. According to the Government of Belize website, "urban authorities are responsible for

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

maintenance and lighting, drains,

refuse collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of list of waste treatment technologies, treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes th ...

and public

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies th ...

. They also have discretionary powers over other services including

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

, parks and playgrounds, markets and slaughter-houses,

public libraries ''Public Libraries'' is the official publication of the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is devoted exclusively to public libraries. The print edition is published six times a year and i ...

, public buildings and the amenities of the city or town centre."

Villages

Villages in Belize are typically governed by a village council. Village councils began in the 1950s and were formalized by the Village Councils Act 1999 which legalized their role and authority to administer village affairs. Villages are declared by ministerial order and one qualification for village status is a minimum of 200 voters. The council is required to meet at least once every quarter and has discretionary powers to appoint committees. Decisions of village committees are subject to the approval of their council. There are over 180 village councils in Belize. Village councils consist of a

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

and six councillors, who are directly elected by registered villagers. Village councils have existed in Belize on an informal basis since the 1950s, but they were first put on a statutory footing by the Village Councils Act 1999. After the Act came into force, the first elections for village councils were held in March and April 2001. Village councils have a more limited range of functions than town councils. They "encourage and assist co-operation on economic and social development and general welfare", and can run

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

s and advise the national government on the affairs of the locality. Some rural villages in Belize have an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

: a local magistrate who has both an administrative and a judicial role. In addition to presiding over local courts, alcaldes are responsible for managing communal land and act as school officers. This form of local governance is practised mainly in Mayan communities in Belize, but any rural community can choose to appoint an alcalde.

List of municipalities

File:Belize City Aerial Shots.jpg, alt=Aerial view of Belize City, Aerial view of

, the largest local municipality in Belize File:Burns Ave in San Ignacio.jpg, alt=Street in San Ignacio, San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Belize's second largest municipality by population File:Belmopan_Parliament.jpg, alt=Downtown Belmopan, Parliament in

, Belize's capital city and third largest municipality by population File:OWtownBZE.JPG, alt=Downtown Orange Walk Town, Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest municipality by population in Belize

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalities in Belize *

Belize geography-related lists Subdivisions of Belize