Ethnic groups in Central America

Central America is a subregion of the Americas formed by six Latin American countries and one (officially) Anglo-American country, Belize. As an isthmus it connects South America with the remainder of mainland North America, and comprises the following countries (from north to south): Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

The inhabitants of Central America represent a variety of ancestries, ethnic groups, and races, making the region one of the most diverse in the world. Some of the countries have a predominance of mixed Amerindian–European, or mestizo, population, while others are inhabited by those of European or Black African ancestry. Asian and mixed race Afro-Amerindian minorities are also identified regularly. People with mestizo ancestry are the largest single group, and along with people of greater European ancestry, comprise approximately 80% of the population, or even more.

In 2007, Central America had a population of approximately 40 million persons within an area of 523,780 km², yielding an overall density of 77.3 inhabitants/km² that is not distributed evenly. For example, Belize is larger than El Salvador in area by 1,924 km², but El Salvador has 30 times the population of Belize. Similarly, the population of Costa Rica is greater than that of Panama, while Panama is greater in area. Guatemala has the largest population with 13.2 million, followed by Honduras at 7.8 million.