How many countries are in Central America?

YearMaps maps 7 countries and territories in Central America: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize. Definitions of Central America vary; this list follows a common convention.

What is the largest country in Central America?

Nicaragua is the largest by area at 120,340 km². Guatemala has the largest population, about 18.69 million.

What is the largest city in Central America?

San Salvador is the largest city recorded for Central America, with a metropolitan population of about 1.43 million.

What is the highest mountain in Central America?

Volcán Tajumulco is the highest summit recorded for Central America in YearMaps, at 4,220 m.

What is the largest lake in Central America?

Lago de Nicaragua is the largest lake recorded in Central America, at about 8,172 km².

Map of Central America — Countries, Cities & Geography

Interactive Map of Central America

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About Central America

Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually defined as consisting of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, and also, in specialized contexts, including Mexico. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from southern Mexico to southeastern Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, is high, which has caused death, injury, and property damage.

Central America includes portions of two recognized cultural areas: the Isthmo-Colombian cultural area, which encompasses modern Panama, Costa Rica, and the eastern portions of Nicaragua and Honduras, along with regions to the east; and the Mesoamerican cultural area, encompassing Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and the western portions of Honduras and Nicaragua, along with the southern part of Mexico. Before Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas, hundreds of indigenous groups lived in these areas. From 1502 onward, Spain began its colonization. From 1609 to 1821, most Central American territories (except for what became Belize and Panama and including the modern Mexican state of Chiapas) were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence and autonomy from mainland Spain. On 15 September, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region were invaded and annexed to the First Mexican Empire, but in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Central America (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Visiting Central America

Central America is the thin section of land that links the North American continent with the South American continent. Geographically part of North America, it is made up of seven small, mostly tropical countries that have much more in common with South America and Mexico than the more affluent north. Mexico is sometimes incorrectly considered part of Central America due to the language and indigenous/Hispanic cultural heritage it shares with several of the countries in the region. The northern geographic border of Central America is often considered to be the isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico whereas the southern border is considered to be the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. Culturally, Central America is sometimes considered to consist only of the 5 countries that simultaneously gained independence on September 15, 1821, thus excluding Panama (then part of Colombia) and Belize (a former British colony).

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Central America (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Countries in Central America

Ranked by population. Each links to that country's own map.

Countries in Central America
#	Country	Population	Area	Capital
1	Guatemala	18.69 million	108,889 km²	Guatemala City
2	Honduras	11.01 million	112,492 km²	Tegucigalpa
3	Nicaragua	7.01 million	120,340 km²	Managua
4	El Salvador	6.37 million	21,041 km²	San Salvador
5	Costa Rica	5.15 million	51,180 km²	San José
6	Panama	4.57 million	74,177 km²	Panama City
7	Belize	422,924	22,966 km²	Belmopan

Largest Cities in Central America

Top 15 of 112 recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Central America
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	San Salvador	1.43 million	San Salvador	National capital
2	San José	1.28 million	San José	National capital
3	Panama City	1.28 million	Panama	National capital
4	Guatemala	1.02 million	Guatemala	National capital
5	Tegucigalpa	946,000	Francisco Morazán	National capital
6	Managua	920,000	Managua	National capital
7	San Pedro Sula	680,091	Cortés	Admin-1 capital
8	Quetzaltenango	575,263	Quezaltenango	Admin-1 capital
9	Alajuela	387,743	Alajuela	Admin-1 capital
10	Santa Ana	234,478	Santa Ana	Admin-1 capital
11	Colón	204,000	Colón	Admin-1 capital
12	San Miguel	201,563	San Miguel	Admin-1 capital
13	Cartago	196,946	Cartago	Admin-1 capital
14	Sonsonate	168,947	Sonsonate	Admin-1 capital
15	León	164,441	León	Admin-1 capital

Highest Mountains in Central America

Top 8 of 8 recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

Highest Mountains in Central America
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Volcán Tajumulco	4,220 m	13,845 ft	North America
2	Volcán Tacaná	4,067 m	13,343 ft	North America
3	Cerro Chirripó	3,820 m	12,533 ft	North America
4	Volcán Barú	3,475 m	11,401 ft	North America
5	Cerro Las Minas	2,849 m	9,347 ft	North America
6	Cerro El Pital	2,730 m	8,957 ft	North America
7	Pico Mogotón	2,106 m	6,909 ft	North America
8	Doyle's Delight	1,174 m	3,852 ft	North America

Largest Lakes in Central America

Top 4 of 4 recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.

Largest Lakes in Central America
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Lago de Nicaragua	8,172 km²	Lake
2	Lago de Managua	1,042 km²	Lake
3	Lago de Izabal	733 km²	Lake
4	Lago Gatun	423 km²	Reservoir

Ports in Central America

Top 15 of 25 recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.

Ports in Central America
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Pedregal	53 m	Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	medium vessels
2	Bluefields	53 m	Small	Caribbean Sea	large vessels
3	Vacamonte	49.4 m	Very Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	medium vessels
4	la Ceiba	49.4 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	large vessels
5	la Union	49.4 m	Very Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	large vessels
6	Chiriqui Grande	42.1 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	large vessels
7	Puerto de Hencan	42.1 m	Very Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	large vessels
8	Bocas del Toro	42.1 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	medium vessels
9	Golfito	42.1 m	Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	large vessels
10	Puerto Sandino	38.4 m	Very Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	large vessels
11	Puerto Este	38.4 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	medium vessels
12	Puntarenas	38.4 m	Very Small	Pacific Coast of North & Central America	large vessels
13	Santo Thomas de Castilla	38.4 m	Small	Caribbean Sea	large vessels
14	Puerto Cabezas	38.4 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	medium vessels
15	Almirante	38.4 m	Very Small	Caribbean Sea	large vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central America

Top 15 of 18 recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central America
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Antigua Guatemala	1979	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (iv)
2	Tikal National Park	1979	Mixed	(i) (iii) (iv) (ix) (x)
3	Copán	1980	Cultural	(iv) (vi)
4	fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo	1980	Cultural	(i) (iv)
5	Darién National Park	1981	Natural	(vii) (ix) (x)
6	Quiriguá	1981	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iv)
7	Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve	1982	Natural	(vii) (viii) (ix) (x)
8	Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves	1983	Natural	(vii) (viii) (ix) (x)
9	Joya de Cerén	1993	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
10	Belize Barrier Reef	1996	Natural	(vii) (ix) (x)
11	Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá	1997	Cultural	(ii) (iv) (vi)
12	Cocos Island National Park	1997	Natural	(ix) (x)
13	Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site	1999	Natural	(ix) (x)
14	Ruínas de León Viejo	2000	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
15	Coiba	2005	Natural	(ix) (x)

Largest Islands of Central America

Top 1 of 1 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.

Largest Islands of Central America
#	Name	Area	Type
1	Darien Gap	8,704 km²	Island

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Central America

Top 9 of 9 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Central America
#	Name	Area	Type	Region
1	Central America	787,235 km²	Isthmus	North America
2	Sierra Chiapas	81,217 km²	Range/mtn	North America
3	Maya Mountains	10,395 km²	Range/mtn	North America
4	Pen. de YucatáN	1,112 km²	Pen/cape	North America
5	Is. de Panamá	720 km²	Isthmus	North America
6	Pen. de Nicoya	687 km²	Pen/cape	North America
7	Pen. de Azuero	416 km²	Pen/cape	North America
8	Costa de los Mosquitos	170 km²	Coast	North America
9	Pen. de Osa	81 km²	Pen/cape	North America

Central America: Quick Answers

How many countries are in Central America?: YearMaps maps 7 countries and territories in Central America: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize. Definitions of Central America vary; this list follows a common convention.
What is the largest country in Central America?: Nicaragua is the largest by area at 120,340 km². Guatemala has the largest population, about 18.69 million.
What is the largest city in Central America?: San Salvador is the largest city recorded for Central America, with a metropolitan population of about 1.43 million.
What is the highest mountain in Central America?: Volcán Tajumulco is the highest summit recorded for Central America in YearMaps, at 4,220 m.
What is the largest lake in Central America?: Lago de Nicaragua is the largest lake recorded in Central America, at about 8,172 km².