Central America

Central America
Area	523,780 km2 (202,233 sq mi)
Population	43,308,660 (2013 est.)
Density	77/km2 (200/sq mi)
Countries	7
Demonym	Central American, North American
GDP	$107.7 billion (exchange rate) (2006) $ 226.3 billion (purchasing power parity) (2006).
GDP per capita	$2,541 (exchange rate) (2006) $5,339 (purchasing power parity) (2006).
Languages	Spanish, English, Mayan languages, Garifuna, Kriol, European languages, and many others
Time Zones	UTC - 6:00, UTC - 5:00
Most Populated Cities	Guatemala City Tegucigalpa Managua Panama City San Pedro Sula San Salvador City Questzaltenango San Miguelito San José Choloma Quetzaltenango Santa Ana San Miguel La Ceiba

Central America (Spanish: América Central, pronounced [aˈmeɾika senˈtɾal] (listen) or Centroamérica pronounced [sentɾoaˈmeɾika] (listen)) is the central geographic region of the continent known as the Americas. It goes from Mexico in the north-west, to Panama in the south-east.

Central America in red

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

• Nicaragua (130,372 km²)
• Honduras (112,090 km²)
• Guatemala (108,890 km²)
• Panama (78,200 km²)
• Costa Rica (51,100 km²)
• Belize (22,966 km²)
• El Salvador (21,040 km²)

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

Guatemala City is the largest city in Central America.

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

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

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

Geography

Countries and capitals of Central America.

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

Physical geography

  Central America and the Caribbean Plate

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

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

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

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

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

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

Biodiversity

El Chorreron, El Salvador.

San Pedro Beach in Ambergris Caye, Belize

Tropical beach (El Zonte) near La Libertad, El Salvador.

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

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