The Maya civilization spread across what is now Belize around 1500 BC, and flourished there until about 900 AD. In the late Classic Era of Maya civilisation (600-1000 AD), as many as 1 million people may have lived in that area. In the centuries that followed, much of original Maya population was wiped out by disease and conflicts between tribes and with Europeans. Now, Belize has a population at about 340.000, from which about 10.6% are Maya, and 34% are Mestizo (with mixed Maya and European descent).
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