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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. 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, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.

In the pre-Columbian era, 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' voyages to the Americas, 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) 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 from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire 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; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838. (Full article...)

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Potbelly sculptures (Spanish barrigones pl. or barrigón sing.) are in-the-round sculptures of obese human figures carved from boulders. They are a distinctive element of the sculptural tradition in the southern Maya area of Mesoamerica. The precise purpose of potbelly sculptures is unknown, although they appear to have been the focus of public veneration and ritual directed by the ruling elite. Although this sculptural tradition is found within the southern Maya area, it has been recognized that the sculptures themselves are non-Maya. (Full article...)

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Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Mesoamerica El Salvador national football team Mayan languages Maya stelae Hurricane Gert Maya civilization Maya peoples Central American squirrel monkey Final Offensive of 1981 (El Salvador) Mantled howler Convict cichlid Spanish American wars of independence Honduran white bat

Did you know...

... that El Salvador was the first country to recognize Manchukuo, apart from Japan?
... that in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?
... that Panamanian earth scientist Erika Podest uses remote sensing to see how climate change has affected global soil moisture?
... that the government of El Salvador, the Catholic Church, and street gangs negotiated a truce to reduce homicides from 2012 to 2014?
... that composer Gonzalo Brenes was a politician in the National Assembly of Panama and served for seven years as Panama's secretary of culture?
... that Marcos G. McGrath, the Catholic archbishop of Panama, was allowed to enter Manuel Noriega's "witch house" and other residences, and found evidence of torture, devil worship, and voodoo?
... that the 7th Macho de Monte Infantry Company of the Panama Defense Forces was named after a tapir?
... that the Central American government voted for annexation to the First Mexican Empire after a request from Regent Agustín de Iturbide?

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General images

The following are images from various Central America-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Mesoamerica and its cultural areas (from Mesoamerica)
Image 2Ballgame marker from the classic Lowland Maya site of Chinkultic, Mexico depicting a ballplayer in full gear (from Mesoamerica)
Image 3Tazumal (from Mesoamerica)
Image 4Nery Brenes Costa Rican Athlete (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 5One of the earliest examples of the Mesoamerican writing systems, the Epi-Olmec script on the La Mojarra Stela 1 dated to around 150 CE. Mesoamerica is one of the five places in the world where writing has developed independently. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 6"Head Variant" or "Patron Gods" glyphs for Maya days (from Mesoamerica)
Image 7El Mirador flourished from 600 BCE to 100 CE, and may have had a population of over 100,000. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 8Central America until 1860, showing the Kingdom of Mosquitia. (from History of Central America)
Image 9Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II, the Classic period ruler of Palenque, as depicted on a stele (from Mesoamerica)
Image 10Countries and capitals of Central America (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 11Examples of the diversity of maize (from Mesoamerica)
Image 12Flag of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 13Illustration that recreates the structures of the archaeological site of Yarumela or El Chircal in Honduras, this place reflects the Olmec influence that existed in Central America in the pre-classic period. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 14The emblem glyph of Tikal (Mutal) (from Mesoamerica)
Image 15Pyramid of the Moon viewed from atop of the Pyramid of the Sun. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 16Anthropomorphic figure from the Proto-Lencan culture found at Los Naranjos, Honduras. An example of Mesomerican art during the preclassic Period. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 1720th century political map of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 18The xoloitzcuintle is one of the naguales of the god Quetzalcoatl. In this form, it helps the dead cross the Chicnahuapan, a river that separates the world of the living from the dead. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 19Heroes of Central American Independence (from History of Central America)
Image 20The Aztec Empire in 1512 (from Mesoamerica)
Image 21Olmec Colossal Head No. 3 1200–900 BCE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 22Detail of the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal, 10th century (from Mesoamerica)
Image 23Indigenous Salvadoran women dancing in the traditional "Procession of Palms" a custom celebrated in the town of Panchimalco in El Salvador. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 24Harry Shum, Jr Asian-Costa Rican – Glee Actor/Dancer (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 25Art with ideological and political meaning: depiction of an Aztec tzompantli (skull-rack) from the Ramirez Codex (from Mesoamerica)
Image 26Young Costa Ricans in San José. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 27Yojoa Lake in Honduras. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 28The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan, an example of a Mesoamerican settlement planned according to concepts of directionality (from Mesoamerica)
Image 29Nicarao community in Rivas, Nicaragua. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 30Holy Spirit Grotto (from Mesoamerica)
Image 31José Matías Delgado y de León listed as the intellectual leader of the independence movement; Delgado was defined as influential, skillful, and intelligent, he started the revolutionary movements against the Spanish crown. (from History of Central America)
Image 32Berta Caceres, Lencan environmental activist. -Honduran (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 33Casa Blanca (from Mesoamerica)
Image 34Xochicalco, Temple of the Feathered Serpent, 650–900 CE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 35Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites, urban centers, and tourist attractions of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 36San Andres (from Mesoamerica)
Image 37Landscape of the Mesoamerican highlands (from Mesoamerica)
Image 38Cihuatán (from Mesoamerica)
Image 39Rigoberta Menchú, Human rights activist. K'iche'-Guatemalan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 40Ritual human sacrifice portrayed in Codex Laud (from Mesoamerica)
Image 41A small ceremonial ballcourt at Tikal. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 42Mesoamerica and Central America in the 16th century before Spanish arrival ^{[according to whom?]} (from Mesoamerica)
Image 43José Matías Delgado At the time of signing the Central American act of independence, in a representation of the meeting of September 15, 1821 of the Chilean painter Luis Vergara Ahumada. (from History of Central America)
Image 44Salvadoran School Children from Metapan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 45Celebration of the Chinese year in Costa Rica (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 46Joya de Cerén (from Mesoamerica)
Image 47Zapotec mask of the Bat God. (from Mesoamerica)

In the news

20 January 2025 – Second presidency of Donald Trump: Anti-Trump protests are held in cities across the United States, as well as in other countries, such as Mexico, Panama, and the United Kingdom. (The Guardian)
7 January 2025 – Denmark–United States relations, Proposals for the United States to purchase Greenland, Panama–United States relations: U.S. president-elect Donald Trump refuses to rule out using military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, declaring U.S. control of both to be "vital to American national security". (AP); Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. makes a personal visit to Greenland weeks after Trump announced that "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity". In response to the visit, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen states that "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders". (BBC News); Panamanian foreign minister Javier Martínez-Acha asserts that only Panamanians operate the Panama Canal and that its sovereignty is non-negotiable, dismissing Trump's claims that China operates the canal and his suggestion of potential U.S. military action to regain control. (DW)
6 January 2025 –: Davivienda, of Colombia, and Scotiabank, of Canada, announced a merger where Davivienda absorbs Scotiabank operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama, and, in turn, Scotiabank acquires 20% of the stakes in Davivienda. (Scotiabank)
4 January 2025 – Haitian crisis, Guatemala–Haiti relations: Gang war in Haiti

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v t e Central American volcanoes
Guatemala	Acatenango Agua Almolonga Atitlán Chicabal Cuilapa-Barbarena Fuego Jumay Moyuta Pacaya Santa María/Santiaguito San Pedro Santo Tomás Siete Orejas Tacaná Tajumulco Tecuamburro Tolimán
El Salvador	Chinameca Chingo Conchagua Izalco Santa Ana San Miguel San Salvador San Vicente Usulután
Nicaragua	Apoyeque Cerro Negro Concepción Cosigüina Maderas Masaya Mombacho Momotombo San Cristóbal Telica
Costa Rica	Arenal Irazú Miravalles Platanar Poás Rincón de la Vieja Tenorio Turrialba
Panama	Barú La Yeguada El Valle
Note: volcanoes are ordered from north-west to south-east.

v t e Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games	1926 Mexico City 1930 Havana 1935 San Salvador 1938 Panama City 1946 Barranquilla 1950 Guatemala City 1954 Mexico City 1959 Caracas 1962 Kingston 1966 San Juan 1970 Panama City 1974 Santo Domingo 1978 Medellín 1982 Havana 1986 Santiago 1990 Mexico City 1993 Ponce 1998 Maracaibo 2002 San Salvador 2006 Cartagena 2010 Mayagüez 2014 Veracruz 2018 Baranquilla 2023 San Salvador 2026 Santo Domingo 2030 TBD
Central American and Caribbean Beach Games	2022 Santa Marta 2025 Puntarenas
Central American and Caribbean Junior Games	2024

v t e Cuisine of Latin America and the Caribbean
Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Middle America	Mexico
South America	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies not included. Semi-autonomous territories are in italics.

v t e Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean
Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Middle America	Mexico
South America	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
Dependencies not included. Semi-autonomous territories are in italics.