area 596 000 km²/230 000 sq mi. A geographical region that encompasses the independent states to the S of Mexico and to the N of South America; includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama; the area gained independence from Spain in 1821.
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as being a region of the Americas in its own right or as the southern portion of North America.
Physical geography
Physiographically, Central America is a narrow isthmus of southern North America extending from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico southeastward to the Isthmus of Panama where it connects to the Colombian Pacific Lowlands in northwestern South America.
Most of Central America rests atop the Caribbean Plate.
Human geography
Geopolitically, Central America has traditionally consisted of the following countries:
| Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala | Honduras Nicaragua Panama * |
According to the above definition, Central America had a combined total population 39,267,000 in 2006, though definitions in Central America itself exclude Panama and Belize from Central America .
Mexico is sometimes included in Central America under certain definitions , e.g. the UN geoscheme includes it in Central America (defined as all mainland states of North America south of the United States) while most other definitions do not.
History
There was a nation of Central America in the early 19th century, consisting of the present day nations of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (which included a region which is nowadays part of Panama), and a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas.
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