Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a

subregion A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The United Nations Statistics Division, Statistics ...

of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to the north,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

to the south, the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

to the east, and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the west. Central America consists of eight countries:

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern 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 wate ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. Within Central America is the

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...

, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the

Central America Volcanic Arc The Central American Volcanic Arc (often abbreviated to CAVA) is a chain of volcanoes which extends parallel to the Pacific coastline of the Central American Isthmus, from Mexico to Panama. This volcanic arc, which has a length of 1,100 kilometer ...

, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as

volcanic eruptions Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

and earthquakes which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage. In the

pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

, Central America was inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

' voyages to the

, Spain began to colonize the Americas. From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories (except for what would become Belize and Panama, and including the modern Mexican state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

) were governed by the viceroyalty of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

as the

Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central A ...

. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy

Juan de O'Donojú ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

signed the

Treaty of Córdoba The Treaty of Córdoba established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. The signatories were the head of the Army of the Three Guaran ...

, which established New Spain's independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the

Act of Independence of Central America The Act of Independence of Central America ( es, Acta de Independencia Centroamericana), also known as the Act of Independence of Guatemala, is the legal document by which the Provincial Council of the Province of Guatemala proclaimed the indepe ...

was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region (i.e. what would become Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) were annexed to the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...

; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

until 1838. In 1838, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala became the first of Central America's seven states to become independent autonomous countries, followed by El Salvador in 1841, Panama in 1903 and Belize in 1981 Despite the dissolution of the

, countries like El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua continue to maintain a Central American identity. Spanish speaking countries officially refer to both North and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, as a single supercontinent, or simply a continent, called "América", which is split in three regions or subcontinents called

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, Central, and

Southern America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the south ...

, this is why many Central American countries include "América Central" in their countries official Coat of Arms and full name.

Belizeans Belizeans are people associated with the country of Belize through citizenship or descent. Belize is a multiethnic country with residents of African, Amerindian, European and Asian descent or any combination of those groups. Colonisation, slave ...

are usually identified as culturally

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

rather than Central American, while

Panamanians Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For mo ...

identify themselves more broadly with their South American neighbours.

Different definitions

"Central America" may mean different things to various people, based upon different contexts: * The

United Nations geoscheme for the Americas The following is an alphabetical list of countries in the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas grouped by subregion and (if applicable) intermediate region. Note that the continent of North America comprises the intermediate regions of the ...

defines ''Central America'' as all states of mainland North America south of the United States, hence grouping Mexico as part of Central America. * Middle America is usually thought to comprise

to the north of the 7 states of ''Central America'' as well as

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to the south. Usually, the whole of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

to the northeast, and sometimes the

Guyanas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * G ...

, are also included.
According to one source, the term "Central America" was used as a synonym for " Middle America" at least as recently as 1962. * In

Ibero-America Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese are predominant languages (usually form ...

(Spanish and Portuguese speaking American countries), the

is considered a single continent (America), and Central America is considered a

of the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

comprising the seven countries south of Mexico and north of Colombia. * For the people living in the five countries, formerly part of the

there is a distinction between the Spanish language terms "América Central" and "Centroamérica". While both can be translated into English as "Central America", "América Central" is generally used to refer to the geographical area of the seven countries between

and

, while "Centroamérica" is used when referring to the former members of the Federation emphasizing the shared culture and history of the region. * In

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

as a rule and occasionally in Spanish and other languages, the entirety of the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

is often included in the definition of Central America. Indeed, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

is a full member of the

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

History

File:HuellasdeAcahualinca.jpg,

Ancient footprints of Acahualinca The Ancient footprints of Acahualinca (; es, Huellas de Acahualinca) exist in Managua, Nicaragua near the southern shore of Lake Managua. The region was once called "El Cauce". The tracks are fossil Late Holocene human footprints left behind in ...

, Nicaragua File:Stone spheres of Costa Rica. Museo Nacional.jpg,

Stone spheres of Costa Rica The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 petrospheres in Costa Rica, on the Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño. Locally, they are also known as bolas de piedra (literally stone balls). The spheres are commonly attributed t ...

File:Tazumal 10.jpg,

Tazumal Tazumal () is a pre-Columbian archeological site in Chalchuapa, El Salvador. Tazumal is an architectural complex within the larger area of the ancient Mesoamerican city of Chalchuapa, in western El Salvador. The Tazumal group is located in the so ...

, El Salvador File:Tikal Guatemala Templo I 2008.jpg,

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Co ...

, Guatemala File:Copan HG-Treppe.jpg, Copan, Honduras File:Altun Ha Belize.jpg, Altun Ha, Belize Carta de los Estados de Centro-America

Firma del Acta de Independencia de Centroamérica

Central America was formed more than 3 million years ago, as part of the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

, when its portion of land connected each side of water. In the

Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

, the northern areas of Central America were inhabited by the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

peoples of

. Most notable among these were the

Mayans The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical reg ...

, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

s, who had created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of eastern El Salvador, eastern Honduras, Caribbean Nicaragua, most of Costa Rica and Panama were predominantly speakers of the

Chibchan languages The Chibchan languages (also Chibchan, Chibchano) make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa ...

at the time of European contact and are considered by some culturally different and grouped in the

Isthmo-Colombian Area The Isthmo-Colombian Area is defined as a cultural area encompassing those territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact. It includes portions of the Central American isthmus like eastern E ...

. Following the Spanish expedition of

's voyages to the Americas, the Spanish sent many expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya territory in 1523. Soon after the

conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the ev ...

, Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucatá ...

commenced the conquest of northern Central America for the

. Beginning with his arrival in

Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost pa ...

in 1523, Alvarado's forces systematically conquered and subjugated most of the major Maya kingdoms, including the

K'iche' K'iche', K'ichee', or Quiché may refer to: *K'iche' people of Guatemala, a subgroup of the Maya *K'iche' language, a Maya language spoken by the K'iche' people **Classical K'iche' language, the 16th century form of the K'iche' language *Kʼicheʼ ...

, Tz'utujil,

Pipil Pipil may refer to: *Nahua people of western El Salvador *Pipil language Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nicarao) is a Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan family. It was spo ...

, and the Kaqchikel. By 1528, the conquest of Guatemala was nearly complete, with only the

Petén Basin The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into Campeche state in southeastern Mexico. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods of pre-Columb ...

remaining outside the Spanish sphere of influence. The last independent Maya kingdoms – the

Kowoj The Kowoj oʔwox(also recorded as ''Ko'woh'', ''Couoh'', ''Coguo'', ''Cohuo'', ''Kob'ow'' and ''Kob'ox'', and ''Kowo'') was a Maya group and polity, from the Late Postclassic period (ca. 1250–1697) of Mesoamerican chronology. The Kowoj clai ...

and the

Itza people Itza may refer to: * Itza people, an ethnic group of Guatemala * Itzaʼ language, a Mayan language * Itza Kingdom (disambiguation) * Itza, Navarre, a town in Spain See also * Chichen Itza, a Mayan city * Iza (disambiguation) * Izza (disambiguat ...

– were finally defeated in 1697, as part of the

Spanish conquest of Petén The Spanish conquest of Petén was the last stage of the conquest of Guatemala, a prolonged conflict during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. A wide lowland plain covered with dense rainforest, Petén contains a central drainage bas ...

. In 1538, Spain established the

Real Audiencia of Panama The Royal Audience and Chancery of Panama in Tierra Firme () was a governing body and superior court in the New World empire of Spain. The ''Audiencia'' of Panama was the third American '' audiencia'' after the ones of Santo Domingo and Mexico. It ...

, which had jurisdiction over all land from the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

to the

Gulf of Fonseca The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. History Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávila, ...

. This entity was dissolved in 1543, and most of the territory within Central America then fell under the jurisdiction of the '' Audiencia Real de Guatemala''. This area included the current territories of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Mexican state of

, but excluded the lands that would become Belize and Panama. The president of the Audiencia, which had its seat in

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque-influenced architec ...

, was the governor of the entire area. In 1609 the area became a

captaincy general A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule a ...

and the governor was also granted the title of captain general. The

encompassed most of Central America, with the exception of present-day Belize and Panama. The Captaincy General of Guatemala lasted for more than two centuries, but began to fray after a rebellion in 1811 which began in the

Intendancy of San Salvador The Intendancy of San Salvador ( es, Intendencia de San Salvador) was an administrative division of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, itself an administrative division of the New Spain, Viceroyalty of New Spain which was a part of the Spanish ...

. The Captaincy General formally ended on 15 September 1821, with the signing of the

. Mexican independence was achieved at virtually the same time with the signing of the

and the

Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire ( es, Acta de Independencia del Imperio Mexicano) is the document by which the Mexican Empire declared independence from the Spanish Empire. This founding document of the Mexican nation was d ...

, and the entire region was finally independent from Spanish authority by 28 September 1821.

Historic flags of Central American Unions

File:Bandera de las Provincias Unidas del Centro de América.png,

United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

(1823–1824) File:Bandera Militar de las Provincias Unidas del Centro de América.png, Military flag of the United Provinces of Central America (1823–1824) File:Bandera República Federal de Centro América 1823 - 1841.jpg,

(1823–1841) File:Republica Federal de Centro América 1842 -1845.jpg, Federal Republic of Central America (1842–1845) File:Central American Federation 1851.jpg, Central American Federation 1851–1853 File:Flag of the Greater Republic of Central America 1896.jpg,

Greater Republic of Central America The Greater Republic of Central America (Spanish: ''República Mayor de Centroamérica''), later the United States of Central America (Spanish: ''Estados Unidos de Centroamérica''), originally planned to be known as the Republic of Central Ame ...

(1896–1897) File:Flag of the Greater Republic of Central America (1898).svg,

(1897–1898) File:Bandera de la República de Centro América 1921-1922.jpg, Republic of Central America (1921–1922)

Historic Coat of Arms of Central American Unions

File:Escudo de las Provincias Unidas del Centro de América.png, The United Provinces of Central America (1823–1825) File:Escudo Los Estados Unidos del Centro De America.jpg, United States of Central America (1826) File:Coat of Arms of the Federal Republic of Central America 1823 - 1841.jpg,

(1827–1841) File:Escudo Republica Federal de Centro América 1842 -1845.jpg, Federal Republic of Central America (1842–1845) File:Central American Federation Coat of Arms 1851.jpg, Federation of Central America (1851–1853) File:The Greater Republic of Central America, 1896.jpg, The

(1896–1897) File:Coat of arms of the Greater Republic of Central America (1898).svg,

(1897–1898) File:Escudo República de Centro América 1921-1922.jpg, Republic of Central America (1921–1922) Manuel José Arce de El Salvador

Salcoatitán, El Salvador - panoramio (9)

From its independence from Spain in 1821 until 1823, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived

. When the

Emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico (Spanish: ''Emperador de México'') was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, Mexico bec ...

abdicated on 19 March 1823, Central America again became independent. On 1 July 1823, the Congress of Central America peacefully seceded from Mexico and declared absolute independence from all foreign nations, and the region formed the

. The Federal Republic of Central America was a

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...

with its capital at

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

. This union consisted of the provinces of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Los Altos,

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...

, and Nicaragua. The lowlands of southwest Chiapas, including Soconusco, initially belonged to the Republic until 1824, when Mexico annexed most of Chiapas and began its claims to Soconusco. The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it disintegrated as a result of civil wars. The territory that now makes up Belize was heavily contested in a dispute that continued for decades after Guatemala achieved independence (see

History of Belize (1506–1862) Belize, on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico, was inhabited by the indigenous peoples who fought belize off the Spaniards in an attempt to preserve their heritage and to avoid the fate of their neighbors who were conquered and ...

. Spain, and later Guatemala, considered this land a Guatemalan department. In 1862, Britain formally declared it a British colony and named it

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

. It became independent as Belize in 1981. Panama, situated in the southernmost part of Central America on the

, has for most of its history been culturally and politically linked to South America. Panama was part of the

Province of Tierra Firme During Spain's New World Empire, its mainland coastal possessions surrounding the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico were referred to collectively as the Spanish Main. The southern portion of these coastal possessions were known as the Provin ...

from 1510 until 1538 when it came under the jurisdiction of the newly formed ''Audiencia Real de Panama''. Beginning in 1543, Panama was administered as part of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...

, along with all other Spanish possessions in South America. Panama remained as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1739, when it was transferred to the

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...

, the capital of which was located at

Santa Fé de Bogotá Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

. Panama remained as part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada until the disestablishment of that viceroyalty in 1819. A series of military and political struggles took place from that time until 1822, the result of which produced the republic of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 18 ...

. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830, Panama became part of a successor state, the

Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the national flag wa ...

. From 1855 until 1886, Panama existed as

Panama State The Panama State, officially known as the Federal State of PanamaBiblioteca Nacional de PanamáConstitución política del Estado de Panamá de 1855Constitución política del Estado soberano de Panamá de 1863/ref> from 1855 to 1863, and as the ...

, first within the Republic of New Granada, then within the

Granadine Confederation The Granadine Confederation ( es, Confederación Granadina) was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia an ...

, and finally within the

United States of Colombia United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nations ...

. The United States of Colombia was replaced by the

Republic of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in 1886. As part of the Republic of Colombia, Panama State was abolished and it became the

Isthmus Department The Isthmus Department, or Department of Panama ( es, Departamento de Panamá, links=no), was one of the departments of the Republic of Gran Colombia and later of the Republic of Colombia. It was created in 1824 and named after the Isthmus of Pa ...

. Despite the many political reorganizations, Colombia was still deeply plagued by conflict, which eventually led to the secession of Panama on 3 November 1903. Only after that time did some begin to regard Panama as a North or Central American entity. By the 1930s the

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

owned of land in Central America and the Caribbean and was the single largest land owner in Guatemala. Such holdings gave it great power over the governments of small countries. That was one of the factors that led to the coining of the phrase

banana republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

. After more than two hundred years of social unrest, violent conflict, and revolution, Central America today remains in a period of political transformation. Poverty, social injustice, and violence are still widespread. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (only

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

is poorer).

Flags of modern Central America

File:Flag of Guatemala.svg,

File:Flag of El Salvador.svg,

File:Flag of Honduras.svg,

File:Flag of Nicaragua.svg,

File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg,

File:Flag of Panama.svg,

File:Flag of Belize.svg,

Coat of Arms of modern Central America

File:Coat of arms of Guatemala.svg,

File:Coat of arms of El Salvador.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Honduras.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Nicaragua.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Costa Rica.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Panama.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Belize.svg,

Geography

Central America is a part of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

consisting of a tapering isthmus running from the southern extent of Mexico to the northwestern portion of

. Central America has the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, a body of water within the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, to the north; the Caribbean Sea, also part of the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast; and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Some physiographists define the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...

as the northern geographic border of Central America, while others use the northwestern borders of Belize and Guatemala. From there, the Central American land mass extends southeastward to the

Atrato River The Atrato River () is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the Cho ...

, where it connects to the Pacific Lowlands in northwestern South America. Of the many mountain ranges within Central America, the longest are the

Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...

, the

Cordillera Isabelia Cordillera Isabelia or Cordillera Isabella in Jinotega, is the northern portion of the central mountain range in Nicaragua, which runs from northwest to southeast through the center of the country. Isabelia reaches an elevation of more than 2100 m ...

and the

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

. At ,

Volcán Tajumulco Volcán Tajumulco is a large stratovolcano in the department of San Marcos in western Guatemala. It is the highest mountain in Central America at . It is part of the mountain range of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, which begins in Mexico's south ...

is the highest peak in Central America. Other high points of Central America are as listed in the table below: CAmerica

Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the raising of livestock and for the production of coffee, tobacco, beans and other crops. Most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala lives in valleys.

Trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

have a significant effect upon the climate of Central America. Temperatures in Central America are highest just prior to the summer wet season, and are lowest during the winter dry season, when trade winds contribute to a cooler climate. The highest temperatures occur in April, due to higher levels of sunlight, lower cloud cover and a decrease in trade winds.

Biodiversity

Central American forests

File:Forest canopy in Belize (5344010084).jpg, Belize File:Zona de Acampar Parque Montecristo.jpg, Montecristo National Park, El Salvador File:Altagracia Volcan Maderas Bosque Nuboso.jpg,

Maderas With a height of , Maderas is the smaller of the two which make up the island of Ometepe, situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America. Unlike Concepción, the other volcano on the island, Maderas has not been active in historical ti ...

forest, Nicaragua File:Small seepage pond near the top of Cerro El Chino - ZooKeys-298-077-g004B.jpg, Texiguat Wildlife Refuge Honduras File:Monteverde bosque.jpg,

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ( es, Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde) is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces. Named after the nearby town of Monteverde and fo ...

, Costa Rica. File:DirkvdM cloudforest-jungle.jpg,

Parque Internacional la Amistad The La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly the La Amistad National Park, is a Transboundary Protected Area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservat ...

, Panama File:Rain forest of Petén in Guatemala.jpg,

Petén–Veracruz moist forests The Petén–Veracruz moist forests is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Setting The Petén–Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , extending from central Veracr ...

, Guatemala El Chorreron, San Fernando, El Salvador

Central America is part of the Mesoamerican

, boasting 7% of the world's

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. The

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

is a major north–south

flyway A flyway is a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters. Flyways generally span continents and often pass over oceans. Although applying to any species of migrati ...

for

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

in the Americas, extending from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. Due to the funnel-like shape of its land mass, migratory birds can be seen in very high concentrations in Central America, especially in the spring and autumn. As a bridge between North America and South America, Central America has many species from the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

and the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

s. 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 the least biodiversity. The table below shows recent statistics: Over 300 species of the region's flora and fauna are threatened, 107 of which are classified as critically endangered. The underlying problems are

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, which is estimated by

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

at 1.2% per year in Central America and Mexico combined, fragmentation of

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s and the fact that 80% of the vegetation in Central America has already been converted to agriculture. Efforts to protect fauna and flora in the region are made by creating

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s and nature reserves. 36% of Belize's land territory falls under some form of official protected status, giving Belize one of the most extensive systems of terrestrial protected areas in the Americas. In addition, 13% of Belize's marine territory are also protected. A large coral reef extends from Mexico to Honduras: the

Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef, is a marine region that stretches over along the coasts of four countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras – from Isla Con ...

. The

Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...

is part of this. The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, and is one of the most diverse

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s of the world. It is home to 70 hard coral species, 36

soft coral Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different f ...

species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

species. So far only about 10% of the species in the Belize barrier reef have been discovered.

Flora

National flowers of Central America

File:Lycaste virginalis Orchi 023.jpg,

Lycaste skinneri ''Lycaste skinneri'', also known as ''Lycaste virginalis'', is a species of epiphyte Orchidaceae, orchid that resides in the south of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, at an average altitude of 1650 meters above sea level. Description ...

, Guatemala File:Yucca - ‘Daga española’ (7625319272).jpg, Izote flower, El Salvador File:Rhyncholaelia digbyana (16395522643).jpg,

Rhyncholaelia digbyana ''Rhyncholaelia digbyana'' is a species of orchid occurring from Honduras to Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Costa Rica. ''Rl. digbyana'' can be distinguished from the other species of ''Rhyncholaelia'' ('' Rl. glauca'') by the frilled labellum. ...

, Honduras File:Frangipani flower.jpg,

Plumeria ''Plumeria'' (), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and ...

, Nicaragua File:A and B Larsen orchids - Cattleya skinneri 574-24.jpg,

Guarianthe skinneri ''Guarianthe skinneri'' is a species of orchid. It is native to Costa Rica; from Chiapas to every country in Central America. ''Guarianthe skinneri'' is the national flower of Costa Rica, where it is known as guaria morada. It was referenced as ...

, Costa Rica File:Peristeria elata Orchi 11.jpg,

Peristeria elata ''Peristeria elata'' is a species of orchid occurring from Central America to Panamá, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is the type species of its genus. It is commonly referred to as the Holy Ghost orchid, dove orchid, or flower of the Holy Spirit in ...

, Panama File:Encyclia cochleata - flower.jpg,

Prosthechea cochleata ''Prosthechea cochleata'', commonly referred to as the clamshell orchid or cockleshell orchid, is an epiphytic, sympodial New World orchid native to Central America, the West Indies, Colombia, Venezuela, and southern Florida. It is also known as ...

, Belize

National trees of Central America

File:Enterolobium cyclocarpum in Guanacaste.jpg,

Enterolobium cyclocarpum ''Enterolobium cyclocarpum'', commonly known as guanacaste, caro caro, monkey-ear tree, or elephant-ear tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from central Mexico ...

Costa Rica File:Maquilishuat en flor.jpg,

Tabebuia rosea ''Tabebuia rosea'', also called pink poui, and rosy trumpet tree is a neotropical tree that grows up to and can reach a diameter at breast height of up to . The Spanish name ''roble de sabana'', meaning "savannah oak", is widely used in Costa R ...

El Salvador File:Árbol Panamá - Sterculia apetala - Árbol Nacional de Panamá 01.JPG,

Sterculia apetala ''Sterculia apetala'', commonly known as the Panama tree, camoruco, manduvi tree or anacagüita, is a species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. It is found in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean islands. ''Sterculia ape ...

Panama File:Pinus oocarpa, San Rafael del Norte, Nicaragua.jpg,

Pinus oocarpa ''Pinus oocarpa'' is a species of pine tree native to Mexico and Central America. It is the national tree of Honduras, where it is known as ocote. Common names include ocote chino, pino amarillo, pino avellano, Mexican yellow pine, egg-cone pine ...

Honduras File:Calycophyllum candidissimum in Managua.jpg,

Calycophyllum candidissimum ''Calycophyllum candidissimum'', the degami, dagame or lemonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Calycophyllum, native to southern Mexico, Cuba, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. It is the national tree of Nicaragua N ...

Nicaragua File:A big Mahogany tree.jpg,

Swietenia macrophylla ''Swietenia macrophylla'', commonly known as mahogany, Honduran mahogany, Honduras mahogany, or big-leaf mahogany is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is one of three species that yields genuine mahogany timber (Swietenia), the othe ...

Belize File:Ceiba, the Maya Tree of Life Laslovarga01.JPG,

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

Guatemala

From 2001 to 2010, of forest were lost in the region. In 2010 Belize had 63% of remaining forest cover, Costa Rica 46%, Panama 45%, Honduras 41%, Guatemala 37%, Nicaragua 29%, and El Salvador 21%. Most of the loss occurred in the moist forest

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

, with . Woody vegetation loss was partially set off by a gain in the coniferous forest biome with , and a gain in the dry forest biome at . Mangroves and deserts contributed only 1% to the loss in forest vegetation. The bulk of the

was located at the Caribbean slopes of Nicaragua with a loss of of forest in the period from 2001 to 2010. The most significant regrowth of of forest was seen in the coniferous woody vegetation of Honduras.

Montane forests

The

Central American pine-oak forests Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

ecoregion, in the

tropical and subtropical coniferous forests Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. These forests are found predominantly in North and Central America and experience low levels of precipitation and moderate va ...

biome, is found in Central America and southern Mexico. The Central American pine-oak forests occupy an area of , extending along the mountainous spine of Central America, extending from the

in Mexico's

state through the highlands of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to central Nicaragua. The pine-oak forests lie between elevation, and are surrounded at lower elevations by

tropical moist forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

and

tropical dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

. Higher elevations above are usually covered with

Central American montane forests The Central American montane forests are an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in mountains of Central America. Geography Central American montane forests consi ...

. The Central American pine-oak forests are composed of many species characteristic of temperate North America including

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, fir, and

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

Laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...

is the most common type of Central American temperate evergreen

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

, found in almost all Central American countries, normally more than above sea level. Tree species include

evergreen oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

s, members of the

laurel family Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur m ...

, species of ''

Weinmannia ''Weinmannia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. It is the largest genus of the family with about 150 species. It is also the most widespread genus, occurring in Central and South America including the Caribbean, Madagasc ...

'' and ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

'', and '' Drimys granadensis''. The cloud forest of

Sierra de las Minas Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

, Guatemala, is the largest in Central America. In some areas of southeastern Honduras there are cloud forests, the largest located near the border with Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, cloud forests are situated near the border with Honduras, but many were cleared to grow coffee. There are still some temperate evergreen hills in the north. The only cloud forest in the Pacific coastal zone of Central America is on the

Mombacho Mombacho is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, near the city of Granada. It is high. The Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve is one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. Mombacho’s last eruption occurred in 1570. There is no historical knowledge of earl ...

volcano in Nicaragua. In Costa Rica, there are laurel forests in the Cordillera de Tilarán and

Volcán Arenal Arenal Volcano ( es, Volcán Arenal) is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna. The Arenal volcano measur ...

, called

Monteverde Monteverde is the twelfth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range. Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism des ...

, also in the

. The

are an ecoregion of the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

biome, as defined by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

. These forests are of the moist deciduous and the semi-evergreen seasonal subtype of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and receive high overall rainfall with a warm summer

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

and a cooler winter dry season. Central American montane forests consist of forest patches located at altitudes ranging from , on the summits and slopes of the highest mountains in Central America ranging from Southern Mexico, through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, to northern Nicaragua. The entire ecoregion covers an area of and has a

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

with relatively high

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

levels.

Fauna

Legendary National Birds of Central America

File:Quetzal01.jpg,

Resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

, Guatemala File:Eumomota superciliosa.jpg,

Turquoise-browed motmot The turquoise-browed motmot (''Eumomota superciliosa'') also known as torogoz, is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, ...

, El Salvador and Nicaragua File:Keel-billed toucan.jpg,

Keel-billed toucan The keel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan, is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize. The species is found in tropical jungl ...

, Belize File:Scarlet-Macaw.jpg,

Scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from ...

, Honduras File:Turdus grayi 4zz.jpg, Clay-colored thrush, Costa Rica File:Harpy Eagle.jpg,

Harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle. It is the ...

, Panama Ecoregions are not only established to protect the forests themselves but also because they are habitats for an incomparably rich and often endemic fauna. Almost half of the bird population of the

Talamancan montane forests The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America. Setting The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of in Cordilleran mounta ...

in Costa Rica and Panama are endemic to this region. Several birds are listed as threatened, most notably the

resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

(Pharomacrus mocinno),

three-wattled bellbird The three-wattled bellbird (''Procnias tricarunculatus'') is a Central American migratory bird of the cotinga family. The sexes are very dissimilar in appearance. The male has a white head and throat and the remaining plumage is chestnut brown. F ...

(Procnias tricarunculata),

bare-necked umbrellabird The bare-necked umbrellabird (''Cephalopterus glabricollis'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and Panama. Bare-necked umbrellabirds live only in forests and their diet c ...

(Cephalopterus glabricollis), and black guan (Chamaepetes unicolor). Many of the amphibians are endemic and depend on the existence of forest. The

golden toad The golden toad (''Incilius periglenes'') is an extinct species of true toad that was once abundant in a small, high-altitude region of about in an area north of the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. It was endemic to elfin cloud forest. Also call ...

that once inhabited a small region in the Monteverde Reserve, which is part of the Talamancan montane forests, has not been seen alive since 1989 and is listed as extinct by IUCN. The exact causes for its extinction are unknown. Global warming may have played a role, because the development of that frog is typical for this area may have been compromised. Seven small mammals are endemic to the Costa Rica-Chiriqui highlands within the Talamancan montane forest region.

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

spider monkey Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The g ...

s, as well as

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

s, and

anteater Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...

s live in the woods of Central America. The

Central American red brocket The Central American red brocket (''Mazama temama'') is a species of brocket deer ranging from southern Mexico, through Central America, to northwestern Colombia. Taxonomy In 1792 Robert Kerr originally described it as a unique separate spe ...

is a brocket deer found in Central America's tropical forest.

Geology

Central America is geologically very active, with

and earthquakes occurring frequently, and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

s occurring occasionally. Many thousands of people have died as a result of these natural disasters. Most of Central America rests atop the

Caribbean Plate The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean Plate borders ...

. This

tectonic plate Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...

converges with the Cocos,

Nazca Nazca (; sometimes spelled Nasca; qu, Naska) is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in ...

, and

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

plates to form the

Middle America Trench The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica. The trench is 1,700 miles (2,750 km) long an ...

, a major

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...

zone. The Middle America Trench is situated some off the Pacific coast of Central America and runs roughly parallel to it. Many large earthquakes have occurred as a result of seismic activity at the Middle America Trench. For example, subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the North American Plate at the Middle America Trench is believed to have caused the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area a ...

that killed as many as 40,000 people. Seismic activity at the Middle America Trench is also responsible for earthquakes in 1902,

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, January 2001, February 2001,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, and many other earthquakes throughout Central America. The Middle America Trench is not the only source of seismic activity in Central America. The

Motagua Fault The Motagua Fault (also, Motagua Fault Zone) is a major, active left lateral-moving transform fault which cuts across Guatemala. It forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It is considered t ...

is an onshore continuation of the

Cayman Trough __NOTOC__ The Cayman Trough (also known as the Cayman Trench, Bartlett Deep and Bartlett Trough) is a complex transform fault zone pull-apart basin which contains a small spreading ridge, the Mid-Cayman Rise, on the floor of the western Caribbe ...

which forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. This

transform fault A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subductio ...

cuts right across Guatemala and then continues offshore until it merges with the Middle America Trench along the Pacific coast of Mexico, near

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

. Seismic activity at the Motagua Fault has been responsible for earthquakes in

1717 Events January–March * January 1 – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom of Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart. * Ja ...

, 1773, 1902,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. Another onshore continuation of the Cayman Trough is the

Chixoy-Polochic Fault The Chixoy-Polochic Fault, also known as Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic Fault, is a major fault zone in Guatemala and southeast Mexico. It runs in a light arc from the east coast of Guatemala to Chiapas, following the deep valleys of the Polochic River, Chi ...

, which runs parallel to, and roughly to the north, of the Motagua Fault. Though less active than the Motagua Fault, seismic activity at the Chixoy-Polochic Fault is still thought to be capable of producing very large earthquakes, such as the 1816 earthquake of Guatemala.

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Volcanic eruptions are also common in Central America. In 1968 the

Arenal Volcano Arenal Volcano ( es, Volcán Arenal) is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna. The Arenal volcano measures ...

, in Costa Rica, erupted killing 87 people as the 3 villages of Tabacon, Pueblo Nuevo and San Luis were buried under pyroclastic flows and debris. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lava have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.

Demographics

Capital cities of Central America

File:Guatemala City - Guatemala.jpg,

File:NuevaPlazaMorazán2018.jpg,

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

File:Tegucigalpa view in october 2021.jpg,

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...

File:Panoramica De Managua.jpg,

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

File:4- Vue San Jose.jpg, San Jose, Costa Rica File:HDR of Panama City, Panama.jpg,

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

File:Aerials Belize WHwy 02.jpg,

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...

The population of Central America is estimated at as of . With an area of , it has a population density of . Human Development Index values are from the estimates for 2017.

Languages

The official language majority in all Central American countries is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, except in Belize, where the official language is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Mayan languages The Mayan languagesIn linguistics, it is conventional to use ''Mayan'' when referring to the languages, or an aspect of a language. In other academic fields, ''Maya'' is the preferred usage, serving as both a singular and plural noun, and as ...

constitute a

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...

consisting of about 26 related languages. Guatemala formally recognized 21 of these in 1996. Xinca,

Miskito Miskito may refer to: * Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua ** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture ** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely indigenous origin * Miskito language, original ...

, and

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

are also present in Central America.

Ethnic groups

Preparing for 2019 Seattle Fiestas Patrias Parade - 40 - women with flags

This region of the continent is very rich in terms of ethnic groups. The majority of the population is

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

, with sizable Mayan and African descendent populations present, including Xinca and Garifuna minorities. The immigration of Arabs, Jews, Chinese, Europeans and others brought additional groups to the area.

Religious groups

Cathedrals of Central America

File:CATEDRAL DE LA INMACULADA CONCEPCION, MANAGUA - panoramio.jpg,

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Managua The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary ( Spanish: ''Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción de María''), referred to as the New Cathedral (''La Nueva Catedral''), is located in Managua, Nicaragua. It was dedic ...

Nicaragua File:Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador.png,

San Salvador Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador) is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador. History The Cathedral site is the place where the old ...

El Salvador File:Catedral Metropolitana, Guatemala City.jpg,

Cathedral of Guatemala City The Holy Church Cathedral Metropolitan Basilica of Santiago de Guatemala also Metropolitan Cathedral, officially Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santiago, is the main church of Guatemala City and of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (Archidioecesis ...

Guatemala File:Metropolitan Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica.jpg,

Metropolitan Cathedral of San José The Metropolitan Cathedral of San José es, Catedral Metropolitana is a cathedral in San José, Costa Rica, located on Calle Central and Avenues 2 and 4. The original cathedral was built in 1802 but was destroyed by an earthquake. References ...

Costa Rica File:Iglesia Catedral de Panama.jpg,

Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama City The Metropolitan Archcathedral Basilica of Santa María la Antigua ( es, Catedral Basílica Santa María la Antigua de Panamá) is a Catholic church located in the old town of Panama City in Panama. It was consecrated in 1796, although construction ...

Panama File:CATEDRAL DE TEGUCIGALPA - panoramio.jpg,

Tegucigalpa Cathedral The St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de San Míguel Arcángel ) It is a Catholic temple in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Its well known ofr being the biggst catholic tmeple during the colonial times aun one of the most well ...

Honduras File:HRrubenFromEast fixed.jpg, Holy Redeemer Cathedral Belize The predominant religion in Central America is

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(95.6%). Beginning with the Spanish colonization of Central America in the 16th century,

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

became the most popular religion in the region until the first half of the 20th century. Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in other Christian groups, particularly

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, as well as other religious organizations, and individuals identifying themselves as having no religion. Source: Jason Mandrik, Operation World Statistics (2020). *Protestantism in Central America also include Independent Christian, most of total Protestants in this region (+80%) are Evangelicals, the rest follow traditional beliefs. *Other Christian include Other Traditional Churches (Orthodox, Episcopalian, etc.) and contemporary churches (Mormons, Adventists, Scientology, etc.), also include Non-denominational Christian who are the most numerous group, specially in Guatemala.

Culture

Central American art

File:JacaltecBrocade.jpg, Guatemalan textiles File:KunaWomanWithMolas.jpg,

Mola (art form) The Mola or Molas is a hand-made textile that forms part of the traditional women's clothing of the indigenous Guna people from Panamá and Colombia, South America. The full costume includes a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow ...

, Panama File:Mercaditode Artesanias en el Centro Historico de Santa Ana.JPG, El Salvador La Plama art form

National dishes of Central America

File:Baleada.jpg,

Baleada A baleada () is a traditional Central American dish, believed to have originated on the northern coast of Honduras. It is composed of a flour tortilla, filled with a smear of mashed "refried" red beans (a variety of bean native to Central an ...

Honduras File:Pupusas salvadoreñas.png,

Pupusa A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras, made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to c ...

El Salvador File:SANCOCHO.jpg,

Sancocho Sancocho (from the Spanish verb ''sancochar'', "to parboil") is a traditional soup in several Latin American cuisines. Variations represent popular national dishes in Dominican Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, ...

Panama File:Gallo Pinto at breakfast.jpg,

Gallo pinto or Royal Spanish Academy y Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (2014)«gallopinto» ''Diccionario de la lengua española'' (23.ª edición). Madrid: Spain. . Consulted October 19, 2018. is a traditional dish from Central America. Co ...

Costa Rica File:Nacatamal assembled.jpg,

Nacatamal A ''nacatamal'' is a traditional dish found in Nicaragua and Honduras similar to the ''tamal'' and to the ''hallaca''. Its name originates from the Nawat language spoken by the Nicarao, which were situated on the Southern Pacific coast of Nicar ...

Nicaragua File:Rice and Beans, Stew Chicken and Potato Salad - Belize.jpg,

Rice and beans Rice and beans, or beans and rice, is a category of dishes from many cultures around the world, whereby the staple foods of rice and beans are combined in some manner. The grain and legume combination provides several important nutrients and many ...

Belize File:Cocinando El Pepian.jpg, Pepián Guatemala *

Central American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved African people who wer ...

Central American cuisine Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly diverse area of land whose nations have varying cuisines. Some items typical o ...

* List of cuisines of the Americas – Central American cuisine

Sport

Central American Games The Central American Games ( es, Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos) are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the first year after Summer Olympics. The Games are open for member federation ...

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

** 1926 Central American and Caribbean Games – the first time this event occurred *

Central American Football Union The Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (Central American Football Union), more commonly known by the acronym UNCAF, represents the national football teams of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Pa ...

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Politics

Leaders of Central America

File:Alejandro Giammattei (48934164796) (cropped).jpg,

Alejandro Giammattei Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla (; born 9 March 1956) is a Guatemalan politician who is serving as the president of Guatemala since 2020. He is a former director of the Guatemalan penitentiary system and participated in Guatemala's president ...

Guatemala File:Presidente Bukele.jpg,

Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who is the 43rd president of El Salvador, serving since 1 June 2019. He is the first president since José Napoleón Duarte (1984–1989) not to have ...

El Salvador File:Xiomara Castro 2022 (cropped).jpg,

Xiomara Castro Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento (; born 30 September 1959), also known as Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, is a Honduran politician who is the 56th president of Honduras, in office since January 2022. She is the country's first female president, having ...

Honduras File:Daniel Ortega 2014 (cropped).jpg,

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...

Nicaragua File:Rodrigo Chaves, discurso posesión (cropped).jpg,

Rodrigo Chaves Robles Rodrigo Alberto de Jesús Chaves Robles (; born 10 June 1961) is a Costa Rican economist and politician who has served as the 49th and current President of Costa Rica since May 2022. He was previously Minister of Finance from 2019 to 2020 during ...

Costa Rica File:Laurentino Cortizo at the Enthronement of Naruhito (1).jpg,

Laurentino Cortizo Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo Cohen (; born 30 January 1953) is a Panamanian politician who has served as the President of Panama since 2019. Cortizo is the former President of the National Assembly and Minister of Agricultural and Livestock Devel ...

Panama File:Johnny Briceño (52135383761) (cropped).jpg,

Johnny Briceño John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a Belizean politician who is the 5th and current Prime Minister of Belize since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the People's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 20 ...

Belize

Integration

Central America is currently undergoing a process of political, economic and cultural transformation that started in 1907 with the creation of the

Central American Court of Justice The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

. In 1951 the integration process continued with the signature of the San Salvador Treaty, which created the ODECA, the Organization of Central American States. However, the unity of the ODECA was limited by conflicts between several member states. In 1991, the integration agenda was further advanced by the creation of the

(''Sistema para la Integración Centroamericana'', or SICA). SICA provides a clear legal basis to avoid disputes between the member states. SICA membership includes the 7 nations of Central America plus the

, a state that is traditionally considered part of the Caribbean. On 6 December 2008, SICA announced an agreement to pursue a common currency and common passport for the member nations. No timeline for implementation was discussed. Central America already has several supranational institutions such as the

Central American Parliament The Central American Parliament ( es, Parlamento Centroamericano), also known as PARLACEN, is the political institution and parliamentary body of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Its headquarters are in Guatemala City. History ...

, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the

Central American Common Market The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

. On 22 July 2011, President

Mauricio Funes Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (born 18 October 1959) is a Salvadoran politician and former journalist who served as President of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 Salvadoran presidential election, 2009 presidential election as ...

of El Salvador became the first president ''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'' to SICA. El Salvador also became the headquarters of SICA with the inauguration of a new building.

Foreign relations

Until recently, all Central American countries maintained diplomatic relations with

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

instead of China. President

Óscar Arias Óscar Arias Sánchez (; born 13 September 1940 in Heredia, Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 ...

of Costa Rica, however, established diplomatic relations with China in 2007, severing formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. After breaking off relations with the Republic of China in 2017, Panama established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. In August 2018, El Salvador also severed ties with Taiwan to formally start recognizing the People's Republic of China as sole China, a move many considered lacked transparency due to its abruptness and reports of the Chinese government's desires to invest in the department of La Union while also promising to fund the ruling party's reelection campaign. The President of El Salvador,

, broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established ties with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. On 9 December 2021, Nicaragua resumed relations with the PRC.

Parliament

The Central American Parliament (aka PARLACEN) is a political and parliamentary body of SICA. The parliament started around 1980, and its primary goal was to resolve conflicts in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Although the group was disbanded in 1986, ideas of unity of Central Americans still remained, so a treaty was signed in 1987 to create the Central American Parliament and other political bodies. Its original members were Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. The parliament is the political organ of Central America, and is part of SICA. New members have since then joined including Panama and the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica is not a member State of the Central American Parliament and its adhesion remains as a very unpopular topic at all levels of the Costa Rican society due to existing strong political criticism towards the regional parliament, since it is regarded by Costa Ricans as a menace to democratic accountability and effectiveness of integration efforts. Excessively high salaries for its members, legal immunity of jurisdiction from any member State, corruption, lack of a binding nature and effectiveness of the regional parliament's decisions, high operative costs and immediate membership of Central American Presidents once they leave their office and presidential terms, are the most common reasons invoked by Costa Ricans against the Central American Parliament.

Economy

File:Banco deGuatemala.JPG, Bank of Guatemala File:World Trade Center San Salvador.jpg,

World Trade Center San Salvador {{Infobox building , name = World Trade Center San Salvador , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = , image_size = 300px , image_alt = , caption = , image_map ...

File:BCH.jpg, Central Bank of Honduras File:Maqueta del Banco Central de Nicaragua.jpg,

Central Bank of Nicaragua The Central Bank of Nicaragua ( es, Banco Central de Nicaragua) is the central bank of Nicaragua. History The bank was established in 1960 and commenced operations on 1 January 1961. Presidents * Francisco Laínez Matamoros, January 1961 - Ma ...

File:Banco Central de Costa Rica.jpg,

Central Bank of Costa Rica The Central Bank of Costa Rica ( es, Banco Central de Costa Rica) is the central bank of Costa Rica. Scope In pursuit of its mission, and to maintain the economy’s internal and external balance, the goals and operating objectives of the Central ...

File:Banco Nacional de Panamá, en vía España de la ciudad de Panamá.jpg,

National Bank of Panama The National Bank of Panama ( es, Banco Nacional de Panamá) (BNP) is one of two Panamanian government-owned banks. As of January 2009, it held deposits of about US$5 billion. The other government-owned bank is ''Caja de Ahorros de Panamá'' (Savin ...

File:Belizean Central Bank 2015.jpg,

Central Bank of Belize The Central Bank of Belize is the central bank of Belize, established in 1982. In 2021 Gustavo Manuel Vasquez was chosen to serve as Governor, replacing A. Joy Grant, who had served in the role since 2016. Logo of the CAFTA-DR

Signed in 2004, the

Central American Free Trade Agreement Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(CAFTA) is an agreement between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the

. The treaty is aimed at promoting

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

among its members. Guatemala has the largest economy in the region. Its main exports are coffee, sugar, bananas, petroleum, clothing, and

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

. Of its 10.29 billion dollar annual exports, 40.2% go to the United States, 11.1% to neighboring El Salvador, 8% to Honduras, 5.5% to Mexico, 4.7% to Nicaragua, and 4.3% to Costa Rica. The region is particularly attractive for companies (especially clothing companies) because of its geographical proximity to the

, very low wages and considerable tax advantages. In addition, the decline in the prices of coffee and other export products and the structural adjustment measures promoted by the international financial institutions have partly ruined agriculture, favouring the emergence of maquiladoras. This sector accounts for 42 per cent of total exports from El Salvador, 55 per cent from Guatemala, and 65 per cent from Honduras. However, its contribution to the economies of these countries is disputed; raw materials are imported, jobs are precarious and low-paid, and tax exemptions weaken public finances. They are also criticised for the working conditions of employees: insults and physical violence, abusive dismissals (especially of pregnant workers), working hours, non-payment of overtime. According to Lucrecia Bautista, coordinator of the ''maquilas'' sector of the audit firm Coverco, ''labour law regulations are regularly violated in maquilas and there is no political will to enforce their application. In the case of infringements, the labour inspectorate shows remarkable leniency. It is a question of not discouraging investors''. Trade unionists are subject to pressure, and sometimes to kidnapping or murder. In some cases, business leaders have used the services of the maras. Finally, black lists containing the names of trade unionists or political activists are circulating in employers' circles. Economic growth in Central America is projected to slow slightly in 2014–15, as country-specific domestic factors offset the positive effects from stronger economic activity in the United States.

Tourism

Central American coast

File:Playa-blanca-885x500.jpg, Playa Blanca Guatemala File:Playa de Corral de Mulas, Usulután, El Salvador - panoramio.jpg,

Jiquilisco Bay The Jiquilisco Bay Biosphere Reserve is located on the southeast Pacific coast of El Salvador, in the department of Usulután Usulután () is the fifth largest city in El Salvador, and capital of the Usulután Department in the south-east of ...

, El Salvador File:Roatan West End 95 we 006.jpg,

Roatán Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...

, Honduras File:Pink Pearl Island-5.jpg, Pink Pearl Island Nicaragua File:Costa Rica Playa Tamarindo and Rivermouth 2007 Aerial Photograph Tamarindowiki 01.JPG,

Tamarindo Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agricultur ...

, Costa Rica File:Insel Zapatilla Panama.jpg,

Cayos Zapatilla Cayos Zapatilla (Zapatilla Cayes) is a group of two uninhabited islands located east of Isla Bastimentos in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. North Cayo Zapatilla is 14 hectares long while south Cayo Zapatilla is ...

, Panama File:Corozal Beach, Corozal, Belize.jpg, Corozal Beach, Belize Great Blue Hole

Tourism in Belize has grown considerably in more recent times, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Belizean Prime Minister

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country. The growth in tourism has positively affected the agricultural, commercial, and finance industries, as well as the construction industry. The results for Belize's tourism-driven economy have been significant, with the nation welcoming almost one million tourists in a calendar year for the first time in its history in 2012. Belize is also the only country in Central America with English as its official language, making this country a comfortable destination for English-speaking tourists. Costa Rica is the most visited nation in Central America. Tourism in Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country, having become the largest source of foreign revenue by 1995. Since 1999, tourism has earned more foreign exchange than bananas, pineapples and coffee exports combined. The tourism boom began in 1987, with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1.03 million in 1999, to a historical record of 2.43 million foreign visitors and $1.92-billion in revenue in 2013. In 2012 tourism contributed with 12.5% of the country's GDP and it was responsible for 11.7% of direct and indirect employment. Tourism in Nicaragua has grown considerably recently, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Nicaraguan President

Transport

Roads

The

Inter-American Highway The Inter-American Highway (IAH) is the Central American section of the Pan-American Highway and spans between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Panama City, Panama. History The idea of a road being built across all of Central America became a tangible ...

is the Central American section of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

, and spans between

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lare ...

, Mexico, and

, Panama. Because of the break in the highway known as the

Darién Gap The Darién Gap (, , es, Tapón del Darién , ) is a geographic region between the North and South American continents within Central America, consisting of a large watershed, forest, and mountains in Panama's Darién Province and the norther ...

, it is not possible to cross between Central America and South America in an automobile.

Waterways

Ports and harbors

Airports

Railways

Education

* List of architecture schools in Central America * List of universities in Belize *

List of universities in Costa Rica Costa Rica has both public and private universities, such as the University of Costa Rica and University for Peace. Tuition generally runs about 50% less than in-state rates for most U.S. schools. Public universities are some of the largest academ ...

List of universities in El Salvador This is a list of universities and specialized institutions in El Salvador. Universities Public * University of El Salvador, UES Private * José Matías Delgado University, UJMD * Francisco Gavidia University, UFG * José Simeón Cañas Central ...

List of universities in Guatemala This is a list of universities in Guatemala. Public institution *Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, founded in 1676 Private institutions * Universidad Rafael Landívar, founded in 1961 *Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, founded in 1966 * ...

List of universities in Honduras This is a list of universities in Honduras. * Escuela Agrícola Panamericana Zamorano *Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Forestales * Universidad Católica de Honduras * Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora Reina de La Paz * Universidad Cristiana de ...

List of universities in Nicaragua The oldest institution of higher education in Nicaragua is the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, which was founded in León in 1812, during the Spanish colonial period. In Nicaragua, there are ten core public and private non-profit un ...

List of universities in Panama This is a list of universities in Panama. *University of Panama * ABAB University *University of Swahili * Technological University of Panama * TECH Technological University *Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua * West Coast University - ...

Notes

References

External links

* Central America.
Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online
'. 2006. New York: Columbia University Press. * Hernández, Consuelo (2009). Reconstruyendo a Centroamérica a través de la poesía. ''Voces y perspectivas en la poesia latinoamericana del siglo XX''. Madrid: Visor.
Central America Video Links
from th
Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives

Central America country pages

Teaching Central America
{{Authority control

Different definitions

History

Historic flags of Central American Unions

Historic Coat of Arms of Central American Unions

Flags of modern Central America

Coat of Arms of modern Central America

Geography

Biodiversity

Central American forests

Flora

National flowers of Central America

National trees of Central America

Montane forests

Fauna

Legendary National Birds of Central America

Geology

Demographics

Capital cities of Central America

Languages

Ethnic groups

Religious groups

Cathedrals of Central America

Culture

Central American art

National dishes of Central America

Sport

Politics

Leaders of Central America

Integration

Foreign relations

Parliament

Economy

Tourism

Central American coast

Transport

Roads

Waterways

Ports and harbors

Airports

Railways

Education

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links