Portal:Central America

The Central America Portal

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.

Most of Central America falls under the Isthmo-Colombian cultural area. Before the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, hundreds of indigenous peoples made their homes in the area. From the year 1502 onwards, Spain began their colonization. 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 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; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838. (Full article...)

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Mayan city-states that have existed in Mesoamerica

The Maya civilization (/ˈmaɪə/) was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. The civilization is also noted for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system.

The Maya civilization developed in the Maya Region, an area that today comprises southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. It includes the northern lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre, the Mexican state of Chiapas, southern Guatemala, El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain. Today, their descendants, known collectively as the Maya, number well over 6 million individuals, speak more than twenty-eight surviving Mayan languages, and reside in nearly the same area as their ancestors. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
... that El Salvador's only goal at a FIFA World Cup occurred during a 10–1 loss to Hungary?
... that El Salvador was the first country to recognize Manchukuo, apart from Japan?
... that the German Empire dispatched six warships to Nicaragua after a marriage dispute led to a shooting and Germany's consul being arrested?
... that Belize's Toledo Progressive Party was accused of being funded by the government of Guatemala?
... that the Federation of Central America, declared to be "perpetual and indissoluble", collapsed after less than one year?
... that both El Salvador and Honduras claim to be the country of origin of the pupusa?
... 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?

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General images

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

Image 1Mesoamerica is primarily situated in western and southern Mexico and Guatemala, above it is Aridoamerica and below is the Isthmo-Colombian Area (from Mesoamerica)
Image 2Cultural areas of Mesoamerica (from Mesoamerica)
Image 320th century political map of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 4The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan, an example of a Mesoamerican settlement planned according to concepts of directionality (from Mesoamerica)
Image 5Yojoa Lake in Honduras. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 6Celebration of the Chinese year in Costa Rica (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 7Landscape of the Mesoamerican highlands (from Mesoamerica)
Image 8Young Costa Ricans in San José. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 9Nicarao community in Rivas, Nicaragua. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 10Indigenous 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 11José 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 12El Mirador flourished from 600 BCE to 100 CE, and may have had a population of over 100,000. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 13Ballgame marker from the classic Lowland Maya site of Chinkultic, Mexico depicting a ballplayer in full gear (from Mesoamerica)
Image 14The emblem glyph of Tikal (Mutal) (from Mesoamerica)
Image 15Detail of the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal, 10th century (from Mesoamerica)
Image 16Illustration 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 17Examples of the diversity of maize (from Mesoamerica)
Image 18Xochicalco, Temple of the Feathered Serpent, 650–900 CE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 19Central America until 1860, showing the Kingdom of Mosquitia. (from History of Central America)
Image 20A small ceremonial ballcourt at Tikal. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 21Salvadoran School Children from Metapan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 22Art with ideological and political meaning: depiction of an Aztec tzompantli (skull-rack) from the Ramirez Codex (from Mesoamerica)
Image 23Heroes of Central American Independence (from History of Central America)
Image 24Harry Shum, Jr Asian-Costa Rican – Glee Actor/Dancer (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 25Olmec Colossal Head No. 3 1200–900 BCE (from Mesoamerica)
Image 26Tikal 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 27"Head Variant" or "Patron Gods" glyphs for Maya days (from Mesoamerica)
Image 28Flag of Central America (from History of Central America)
Image 29One 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 30The Aztec Empire in 1512 (from Mesoamerica)
Image 31Pyramid of the Moon viewed from atop of the Pyramid of the Sun. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 32Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II, the Classic period ruler of Palenque, as depicted on a stele (from Mesoamerica)
Image 33Rigoberta Menchú, Human rights activist. K'iche'-Guatemalan (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 34Countries and capitals of Central America (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 35Anthropomorphic figure from the Proto-Lencan culture found at Los Naranjos, Honduras. An example of Mesomerican art during the preclassic Period. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 36Berta Caceres, Lencan environmental activist. -Honduran (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
Image 37The 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 38Zapotec mask of the Bat God. (from Mesoamerica)
Image 39José 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 40Mesoamerica and Central America in the 16th century before Spanish arrival ^{[according to whom?]} (from Mesoamerica)
Image 41Ritual human sacrifice portrayed in Codex Laud (from Mesoamerica)
Image 42Nery Brenes Costa Rican Athlete (from Ethnic groups in Central America)

In the news

8 December 2025 –: The Honduran attorney general issues an international arrest warrant for former president Juan Orlando Hernández, whom U.S. president Donald Trump recently pardoned after serving part of a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking. (Reuters)
8 December 2025 – 2025 Honduran general election: The Honduran electoral council resumes releasing updated presidential election results following an extended pause to conduct technical reviews and address inconsistencies in tally sheets, with the latest count showing National Party candidate Nasry Asfura narrowly ahead. (Reuters)
2 December 2025 –: Colombian authorities detain 17 children and nine adults belonging to the fundamentalist Jewish cult Lev Tahor, citing concerns about the safety of the children in the group. Five of the children had American and Guatemalan passports, and all 26 members were flown to New York to await investigations into their welfare. (AP)
1 December 2025 – Honduras–United States relations: Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández is released from a prison in Preston County, West Virginia, after U.S. president Donald Trump pardoned Hernández from his conviction of aiding large-scale cocaine trafficking. (AFP via France 24)
1 December 2025 – 2025 Honduran general election: The Honduran National Electoral Council reports that presidential candidates Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla remain separated by about 500 votes in the preliminary count, which it describes as a technical tie, and announces that a manual count will begin. (AFP via South China Morning Post)
30 November 2025 – 2025 Honduran general election: Hondurans vote for their president to succeed term-limited incumbent Xiomara Castro. (AP)

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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
North 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
North 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.