BelizeCapital: Belmopan. Formerly British Honduras. Independent from the United Kingdom since 1981, and a member of the United Nations since the same year.
Costa RicaCapital: San José. Nicaragua is to the north. Panama is to the southeast. Independent from Spain since 1821 and, after a short spell under Mexico, in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
El SalvadorCapital: San Salvador. On the Pacific coast, between Guatemala and Honduras. Independent from Spain since 1821 and, after a short spell under Mexico, in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
GuatemalaCapital: Guatemala City. Its south coast is on the Pacific Ocean. Independent from Spain since 1821 and, after a short spell under Mexico, in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
HondurasCapital: Tegucigalpa. Its long north coast is on the Caribbean Sea. Its short south coast is on the Pacific. Independent from Spain since 1821, and in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
MexicoCapital: Mexico City. The United States is to its north. Guatemala and Belize are to its southeast. The United Nations files it under Central America, usually counted as the seven countries to its south. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
NicaraguaCapital: Managua. The largest country of Central America. It holds Central America's largest freshwater lake, Lake Nicaragua. Independent from Spain since 1821, and in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823. Joined the United Nat
PanamaCapital: Panama City. Its border with Colombia is at the Darién Gap. It is the only land link between North and South America. It left Spain in 1821 as part of Gran Colombia and left Colombia in 1903. Joined the United Nations in 1945.
How this list was compiled: The 23 countries are the sovereign states of North America, every one a member of the United Nations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_in_North_America (the list, the capitals, and the status of Greenland and Puerto Rico) and https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states (membership and the years of joining), checked 2026-09-19. The three regions, with Mexico under Central America, follow the United Nations geoscheme: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/, checked 2026-09-19. Central America as seven countries, the count of 23 sovereign states, the two largest countries, and the Darién Gap as the land link to South America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America, checked 2026-09-19. Years of independence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_the_Americas, checked 2026-09-19. Greenland and Puerto Rico are drawn and not asked, because they are not member states of the United Nations. Positions and sizes in the hints were read off the drawing, which is equal-area. Hints and detail lines written for this site. Central America from 1821 to 1823 (independence from Spain, annexation by the First Mexican Empire in January 1822, the United Provinces from 1 July 1823): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Central_America, checked 2026-09-19. Panama, 1821 and 1903: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama, checked 2026-09-19. Neighbors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_number_of_land_borders, checked 2026-09-19. Coasts and positions: the opening paragraphs of the Wikipedia articles on Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua (Nicaragua as the largest country of Central America by area), and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nicaragua, checked 2026-09-19. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection centred on 48°N 96°W. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. 5 places are too small to draw at this scale and shown as a dot. Licence: public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This blank map of Mexico and Central America numbers eight countries: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The south of the United States, Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas are drawn without numbers.
Read the full guide
Eight countries, or Mexico and seven
The eight are the countries the United Nations list files under Central America. Most school books count seven there and place Mexico in North America. Either way this is the sheet a unit on the region hands out: a blank map of Central America and Mexico with nothing else numbered. Mexico fills the top half, and the seven run down the narrowing land to Panama, where the mainland meets South America.
Two countries too small to write on
Belize and El Salvador each have a ring joined by a line. Belize is on the Caribbean coast, under Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and east of Guatemala. El Salvador lies along the Pacific coast, between Guatemala and Honduras. Nicaragua is the largest of the seven and El Salvador the smallest.
Start with Mexico, then go down the map: Guatemala and Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama.
Questions and answers
Is Mexico part of Central America?
On the United Nations list, yes: it files Mexico under Central America with the seven countries to its south. Most atlases and school books count Mexico as North America and Central America as seven countries. This map numbers all eight.
What are the seven countries of Central America?
Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. They lie between Mexico and Colombia, with the Caribbean Sea on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the southwest.
Which countries border Mexico?
Three: the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast. All three borders are on this sheet; the United States is drawn without a number.
Which is the largest country on the map?
Mexico, by far: it is larger than the other seven put together. Nicaragua is the largest of those seven, ahead of Honduras and Guatemala.