Central America

Central America is a region stretching from Guatemala and Belize in the north-west, to Panama in the south-east. It is also known as the area of land that sits south-east of Mexico and north-west of Colombia, between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Central America in red

This is a list of the countries in Central America, from the largest to the smallest:

• Nicaragua (130,373km²)
• Honduras (112,090km²)
• Guatemala (108,890km²)
• Panama (78,200km²)
• Costa Rica (51,100km²)
• Belize (22,966km²)
• El Salvador (21,040km²)

Although Guatemala is not the largest country, it has the largest population (more than 14 million people) and contains the largest city, Guatemala City.

Guatemala City is the largest city in Central America.

All the countries in Central America are Spanish-speaking apart from Belize, whose people also speak English. Some people also speak other languages, such as the Maya languages.

Central America is part of the continent known as North America.

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Environment

The weather in Central America is mostly very hot and humid because it sits in the tropics, although it can be cooler on the mountains. The land is very green and is covered with a lot of rain-forest. Sugar cane, coffee and bananas grow here. The area also has a lot of volcanoes because it sits between two tectonic plates.