Countries of Central America and the Caribbean by Area

Central America is a region at the center of the two of the American continents. It fully lies in a tropical climate and has savanna, rainforest, and mountainous regions. Geographically, it represents the southernmost part of the North American continent and it contains an isthmus that connects North America to South America. Panama is the border between the two continents. At its narrowest point, the isthmus stretches only 30 miles (50 km) wide.

The mainland portion of the region consists of seven different countries, but 13 nations in the Caribbean are also normally counted as a part of Central America. Central America shares borders with Mexico to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Colombia to the south and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The region is considered part of the developing world, which means it has issues in poverty, education, transportation, communications, infrastructure, and/or access to health care for its residents.

The following is a list of the countries of Central America and the Caribbean arranged by area. For reference the countries on the mainland portion of Central America are marked with an asterisk (*). The 2017 population estimates and capitals of each country have also been included. All information was obtained from the CIA World Factbook.

Central America and the Caribbean Countries

Nicaragua*
Area: 50,336 square miles (130,370 sq km)
Population: 6,025,951
Capital: Managua

Honduras*
Area: 43,278 square miles (112,090 sq km)
Population: 9,038,741
Capital: Tegucigalpa

Cuba
Area: 42,803 square miles (110,860 sq km)
Population: 11,147,407
Capital: Havana

Guatemala*
Area: 42,042 square miles (108,889 sq km)
Population: 15,460,732
Capital: Guatemala City

Panama*
Area: 29,119 square miles (75,420 sq km)
Population: 3,753,142
Capital: Panama City

Costa Rica*
Area: 19,730 square miles (51,100 sq km)
Population: 4,930,258
Capital: San Jose

Dominican Republic
Area: 18,791 square miles (48,670 sq km)
Population: 10,734,247
Capital: Santo Domingo

Haiti
Area: 10,714 square miles (27,750 sq km)
Population: 10,646,714
Capital: Port au Prince

Belize*
Area: 8,867 square miles (22,966 sq km)
Population: 360,346
Capital: Belmopan

El Salvador*
Area: 8,124 square miles (21,041 sq km)
Population: 6,172,011
Capital: San Salvador

The Bahamas
Area: 5,359 square miles (13,880 sq km)
Population: 329,988
Capital: Nassau

Jamaica
Area: 4,243 square miles (10,991 sq km)
Population: 2,990,561
Capital: Kingston

Trinidad and Tobago
Area: 1,980 square miles (5,128 sq km)
Population: 1,218,208
Capital: Port of Spain

Dominica
Area: 290 square miles (751 sq km)
Population: 73,897
Capital: Roseau

Saint Lucia
Area: 237 square miles (616 sq km)
Population: 164,994
Capital: Castries

Antigua and Barbuda
Area: 170 square miles (442.6 sq km)
Antigua area: 108 square miles (280 sq km); Barbuda: 62 square miles (161 sq km); Redonda: .61 square miles (1.6 sq km)
Population: 94,731
Capital: Saint John's

Barbados
Area: 166 square miles (430 sq km)
Population: 292,336
Capital: Bridgetown

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Area: 150 square miles (389 sq km) 
Saint Vincent area: 133 square miles (344 sq km)
Population: 102,089
Capital: Kingstown

Grenada
Area: 133 square miles (344 sq km)
Population: 111,724
Capital: Saint George's

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Area: 101 square miles (261 sq km)
Saint Kitts area: 65 square miles (168 sq km); Nevis:  36 square miles (93 sq km)
Population: 52,715
Capital: Basseterre