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Central America (Spanish: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America, which connects with South America on the southeast, or a region of the Americas in its own right.

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. Alternatively, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt delimits the region on the north. Central America has an area of some 592,000 square kilometres. The Pacific Ocean lies to the southwest, the Caribbean Sea lies to the northeast, and the Gulf of Mexico lies to the north.

Most of Central America rests atop the Caribbean Plate. The region is geologically active, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, and in 2001 two earthquakes devastated El Salvador. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.

Human geography

Geopolitically, Central America has traditionally consisted of the following countries:

Name of territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (2006 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Belize	&&&&&&&&&&022966.&&&&&022,966	&&&&&&&&&0301000.&&&&&0301,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	Belmopan
Costa Rica	&&&&&&&&&&051100.&&&&&051,100	&&&&&&&&04582000.&&&&&04,582,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&086.&&&&&086	San José
El Salvador	&&&&&&&&&&021040.&&&&&021,040	&&&&&&&&07002000.&&&&&07,002,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&0333.&&&&&0333	San Salvador
Guatemala	&&&&&&&&&0108890.&&&&&0108,890	&&&&&&&014076000.&&&&&014,076,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&0129.&&&&&0129	Guatemala City
Honduras	&&&&&&&&&0112492.&&&&&0112,492	&&&&&&&&07405000.&&&&&07,405,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&066.&&&&&066	Tegucigalpa
Nicaragua	&&&&&&&&&0129494.&&&&&0129,494	&&&&&&&&05912000.&&&&&05,912,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&046.&&&&&046	Managua
Panama	&&&&&&&&&&075517.&&&&&075,517	&&&&&&&&03284000.&&&&&03,284,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.&&&&&043	Panama City
Total	&&&&&&&&&0521499.&&&&&0521,499	&&&&&&&042382000.&&&&&042,382,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&081.&&&&&081

Many modern definitions of Central America include Belize and Panama, neither of which existed upon the formation of the Federal Republic of Central America, a short-lived union created after most of the region gained independence from Spain in the 19th century. The territory now occupied by Belize was originally contested by the United Kingdom and the Spanish Empire and, later, Guatemala (which has considered it, wholly or partially, an eastern department); it became a British colony (British Honduras) in 1871 and gained independence in 1981.

Panama, situated on the Isthmus of Panama, is sometimes regarded as a transcontinental territory. Today, it is often considered a part of North America alone; however, for much of its post-Columbian history, Panama has been connected to South America. Panama was a possession of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, and then, following independence, became a part of la Gran Colombia (Greater Colombia). Only after independence from Colombia in 1903 did some begin to regard Panama as a North or Central American entity.

History

Main article: History of Central America

In pre-Columbian times, most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. The Native American societies of Mesoamerica occupied the land ranging from central Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south. Most notable among these were the Maya, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, who created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of Panama traded with both Mesoamerica and South America, and can be considered transitional between those two cultural areas.

Following Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas for Spain, the Spanish sent numerous expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya lands in the 1520s. In 1540, Spain established the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which extended from southern Mexico to Costa Rica, and thus encompassed most of what is currently known as Central America, with the exception of British Honduras (present-day Belize). This lasted nearly three centuries, until a rebellion (which followed closely on the heels of the Mexican War of Independence) in 1821.

After the dissolution of Spanish authority, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire, then turns into the Federal Republic of Central America, which was a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City. This union consisted of the present day nations of Guatemala (which included the former state of Los Altos), Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (which included a region which is now part of Panama, and the Guanacaste Province), and Soconusco, a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it began to disintegrate due to civil wars.

Central American Integration

Central America is going through a process of political, economical and cultural transformation that started in 1907 with the creation of the Central American Court of Justice. In 1951 the integration process continued with the signature of the San Salvador Treaty that created the ODECA, the Organization of Central American States. Unfortunately, the ODECA was not completely successful due to internal conflicts between several states of the region.

It was until 1991 that the integration agenda was completed with the creation of the SICA, Sistema para la Integración Centroamericana or System of the Central American Integration. The SICA provided a clear legal base to avoid discrepancies between the member states. The SICA membership includes the 7 nations of Central America plus the Dominican Republic, a state that is part of the Caribbean.

Central America already has several supranational institutions such as the Central American Parliament, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Central American Common Market.

Foreign relations

Until recently all Central American countries (excluding Costa Rica) maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead of the People's Republic of China.^[1]. President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, however, established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 2007, severing formal diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Usage

"Central America" may mean different things to different people in the world according to the context:

• In English, Central America is considered a region of the North American continent.^[2] Geopolitically, it usually comprises seven countries – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.^[3] Mexico, in whole or in part, is occasionally included.^[4] Some geographers include the five states of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán,^[3] together representing 12.1% of the country's total area.
• In Latin America, Iberia, and some other parts of Europe, the Americas are considered to be a single continent, and Central America is considered a region of this continent. In Ibero-America<