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Central America

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Area523,780 km2 (202,230 sq mi)[1]
PopulationNeutral increase 52,700,000 (2023)[source?]
GDP (nominal)$362.62 billion (exchange rate) (2023)
GDP (PPP)$738.8 billion (2023)
GDP per capita$6,880 (exchange rate) (2023)
$14,019 (PPP) (2023)
Ethnic groupsMestizo[2][3]
Indigenous
European
Garifuna
Mulatto
African
Religions
  • 17.6% No religion
  • 2.5% Folk religions
  • 1.3% Others
DemonymCentral American[a]
Countries
Dependencies
Languages
Largest cities
Central America in red

Central America[g] is a subregion of North America and Latin America. The region consists of seven countries including Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi). It is almost 0.1% of the Earth's surface. This is a list of the countries in Central America, from the largest to the smallest:

While Nicaragua is the largest country in area, of Central America, Guatemala has the largest population by country in Central America, with more than 14 million people and they also have the most populated city in Central America, being Guatemala City.

Guatemala City is the largest city in Central America.

Six of the seven countries have Spanish as their official language, with Belize being the non-Spanish speaking country, as their official language is English, although there are now at least 195,597 (62.8%) of people in Belize who speak Spanish.[4]

Some people also speak indigenous or creole languages like the Maya languages.

Central America has a density of 77 people per square kilometer.

Geography

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Countries and capitals of Central America.

Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi). It is almost 0.1% of the Earth's total surface. In 2009 the population was estimated at 41,739,000. It has a density of 77 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile.

Physical geography

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  Central America and the Caribbean Plate

Central America has many unique features that go from the north-western borders of Belize and Guatemala to the Isthmus of Panama. There it connects to the Colombian Pacific Lowlands in South America.

Central America is an area of some 524,000 square kilometres. The Pacific Ocean is on the southwest, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north. Most of Central America rests on the Caribbean Plate.

The region is geologically active. It has volcanic eruptions and earthquakes from time to time.

The 1976 Guatemala earthquake killed 23,001 people. Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972. The last one killed about 5,001 people. Three earthquakes hit El Salvador. The first one in 1986 and two in 2001. An earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009. It killed at least 35 people. In Honduras a powerful earthquake happened in 2009.

Volcanic eruptions are common. In 1968 the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica erupted. This killed at least 87 people. The 3 villages of Tabacon, Pueblo Nuevo, and San Luis were buried under ash.

Central America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala live in valleys, between mountains. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans and other crops.

Biodiversity

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El Chorreron, El Salvador.
San Pedro Beach in Ambergris Caye, Belize
Tropical beach (El Zonte) near La Libertad, El Salvador.

Central America is part of the Mesoamerican Biodiversity hotspot, boasting 7% of the world's biodiversity.[5] As a bridge between North and South America, Central America has many species from the Nearctic and the Neotropic ecozones. However the southern countries (Costa Rica and Panama) of the region have more biodiversity than the northern countries (Guatemala and Belize), meanwhile the central countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) have least biodiversity.[5] The table shows current statistics for the seven countries:

Country Amphibians Birds Mammals Reptile
 Belize 46[6] 544[6] 147[6] 140[6] 877[6] 2894[6] 3771[6]
 Costa Rica 183[7] 838[7] 232[7] 258[7] 1511[7] 12119[7] 13630[7]
 El Salvador 30[8] 434[8] 137[8] 106[8] 707[8] 2911[8] 3618[8]
 Guatemala 133[9] 684[9] 193[9] 236[9] 1246[9] 8681[9] 9927[9]
 Honduras 101[10] 699[10] 201[10] 213[10] 1214[10] 5680[10] 6894[10]
 Nicaragua 61[11] 632[11] 181[11] 178[11] 1052[11] 7590[11] 8642[11]
 Panama 182[12] 904[12] 241[12] 242[12] 1569[12] 9915[12] 11484[12]

References

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  1. ↑ "Geography Statistics of Central America". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 27 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  2. ↑ "Imagining Central America: Short Histories". University of Cincinnati Press. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  3. ↑ "Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean". Pew Research Center. 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2025-08-01.[dead link]
  4. ↑ Page 32 of Demografía de la lengua española Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine (52,1% native speakers + 11,7% with some Spanish knowladge)
  5. 1 2 "Resource not found" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Belize Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Costa Rica Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "El Salvador Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Guatemala Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Honduras Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Nicaragua Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Panama Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures". Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  13. Areas and population estimates taken from the 2008 CIA World Factbook, whose population estimates are as of July 2007.
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  1. ↑ Spanish: centroamericano
  2. ↑ The United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America, but the country is not universally considered to be a part of Central America among other geographical societies.
  3. 1 2 One of the Central American Pacific Islands.
  4. ↑ Comprising two remote island groups off the coast of Central America.
  5. ↑ Administered by Colombia, claimed by Jamaica and the United States.
  6. ↑ Administered by Colombia, claimed by Honduras, Jamaica, and the United States.
  7. ↑ Spanish: América Central es or Centroamérica es
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