The statistic shows the largest countries in Central America, based on land area. Nicaragua is the largest country in the subregion, with a total area of over 130 thousand square kilometers, followed by Honduras, with more than 112 thousand square kilometers.

Based on land area, Brazil is the largest country in Latin America by far, with a total area of over 8.5 million square kilometers. Argentina follows with almost 2.8 million square kilometers. Cuba, whose surface area extends over almost 111,000 square kilometers, is the Caribbean country with the largest territory.

Brazil: a country with a lot to offer

Brazil's borders reach nearly half of the South American subcontinent, making it the fifth-largest country in the world and the third-largest country in the Western Hemisphere. Along with its landmass, Brazil also boasts the largest population and economy in the region. Although Brasília is the capital, the most significant portion of the country's population is concentrated along its coastline in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

South America: a region of extreme geographic variation

With the Andes mountain range in the West, the Amazon Rainforest in the East, the Equator in the North, and Cape Horn as the Southern-most continental tip, South America has some of the most diverse climatic and ecological terrains in the world. At its core, its biodiversity can largely be attributed to the Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, and the Amazon river, the world's largest river. However, with this incredible wealth of ecology also comes great responsibility. In the past decade, roughly 80,000 square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon were destroyed. And, as of late 2019, there were at least 1,000 threatened species in Brazil alone.

As of 2024, Guatemala was the most populated country in Central America with over 17.85 million inhabitants. Honduras followed in second with over 10.66 million. In contrast, Belize was the least populated, with less than half a million inhabitants.

The statistic shows the largest countries in South America, based on land area. Brazil is the largest country by far, with a total area of over 8.5 million square kilometers, followed by Argentina, with almost 2.8 million square kilometers.

Historical dataset showing Central America military size by year from N/A to N/A.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

From 2022 to 2024, among the Central American countries, Guatemala had the highest prevalence of food insecurity, accounting for **** percent of the population. It was followed by El Salvador and Honduras. Food insecurity is defined as the lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food, leading to a healthy lifestyle.

The South & Central America Oil Country Tubular Goods Market report segments the industry into By Manufacturing Process (Seamless, Electric Resistance Welded), By Grade (Premium Grade, API Grade), and By Geography (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Rest of South and Central America). Five years of historic data and five-year forecasts are included.

The average for 2023 based on 20 countries was -0.17 points. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 0.98 points and the lowest value was in Haiti: -1.43 points. The indicator is available from 1996 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2024 based on 19 countries was 9620.41 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 30914.37 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Haiti: 1154.87 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of 2024 estimates, Costa Rica registered the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Central America with around 83 billion USD, closely followed by Panama. In contrast, Belize ranked with the lowest GDP with just over 2.7 billion USD.

The average for 2024 based on 20 countries was 9.65 percent. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 24.72 percent and the lowest value was in Honduras: 4.42 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2023 based on 18 countries was 48.73 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Brazil: 355.02 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Bolivia: 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Abstract

Multiple causes for displacement, all too often underpinned by violence and persecution, has led to over 800,000 Central Americans fleeing their homes, beginning in 2013. Year after year, there has been an increase in individuals fleeing. This was marked initially by especially large numbers of unaccompanied children, then joined in around 2018 with dramatic increases in families units fleeing Central America. Families are forced to flee together as violent threats and persecution by criminal groups in communities extend beyond individuals to entire family units.

Given these shifting dynamics in human mobility in these countries, UNHCR and UNICEF, through the Interdisciplinary Development Consultants, CID Gallup, decided to undertake this study with the aim of understanding and giving visibility to the forced displacement of families that flee northern Central America. In addition, the study also seeks to shed light on the current trends, protection risks and factors associated to the forced displacement and migration of unaccompanied and separated children.

For this purpose, Gallup conducted 3,104 surveys, complemented by focus group sessions segmented according to the geography of displacement in the region: country of origin, of transit and of asylum. Additionally, interviews were undertaken with families who were part of large mixed movement "caravans" that left Honduras at the beginning of 2020.

Analysis unit

Household

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

A significant sample was taken of each profile interviewed for a total of 3,104 surveys conducted in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. The content of each survey was focused on the following profiles:

Families and children and adolescents at risk of displacement in countries of origin: a total of 789 surveys were carried out with families identified from a non-probabilistic sampling. The surveys were taken in areas with the highest criminality and violence rates in countries of origin (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala), which were also areas with a prior history of forced displacement identified through previous studies. The survey questions focused on risks faced by families in their places of origin, including those that would compel them to flee, particularly those related to violence and poverty.

Families and children and adolescents in transit: a total of 836 surveys were carried out with families identified from a non-probabilistic sampling. The surveys were taken at locations where persons in transit were typically found in Guatemala and Mexico, such as Casas de Migrantes. For the quantitative component, data of unaccompanied children and adolescents was gatheredin Casa Nuestras Raices in Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango. This segment of the population was surveyed on the risks they faced during transit as well as the causes of displacement from their countries of origin.

Families and children and adolescents in country of destination: through non-probabilistic sampling methods, 453 people were surveyed, the majority of whom were recognized as refugees or asylum seekers in Mexico. Several interviews were facilitated by the UNHCR Office in Mexico in areas with this population profile: Casa del Migrante Monsenor-Oluta Veracruz, Scalabrinianas Mision con Migrantes y Refugiados, State DIF, Municipal DIF, among others. The survey questions for this population focused on the asylum procedure and their living conditions in the country.

Deported families and children and adolescents: non-probability cluster sampling. Interviews were conducted with 1,026 families that had been detained and deported during the 12 months prior to the survey. Locations included the Guatemalan Air Force base, outside of the Center for the Comprehensive Assistance to Migrants (CAIM for its acronym in Spanish) and outside of the following locations in Honduras: Center for the Assistance of Migrant Children and Families in Belen, and Center for the Assistance to the Returned Migrant (CAMR) and CAMR-OMOA.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire contains the following sections: household characteristics, individual characteristics, details on deportation, risks, transit, settled households.

The average for 2023 based on 20 countries was 75.43 years. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 81.69 years and the lowest value was in Haiti: 64.94 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, Brazil ranked first by total population among the 24 territories presented in the ranking. Brazil's total population amounted to 211.14 million people, while Mexico and Colombia, the second and third territories, had records amounting to 129.74 million people and 52.32 million people, respectively.

In 2025, Brazil and Mexico were expected to be the countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean. In that year, Brazil's GDP could reach an estimated value of 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas Mexico's amounted to almost 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars. GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year. It measures the economic strength of a country and a positive change indicates economic growth.

In 2022, Panama, Guatemala, and, Costa Rica were the largest electricity-producing countries in Central America, each with an output of more than ** terawatt-hours. Costa Rica also had the largest share of electricity produced from renewables in Central America that year.

In 2021, only Nicaragua registered a decline in international tourist arrivals among all Central American countries. It was also the country with the lowest volume of inbound tourism in that year. In contrast, El Salvador was registered the highest number of international visitor arrivals in the region, with approximately **** million.

The Central American nation with the highest prison occupancy rate, as of April 2025, was Guatemala, when the level stood at almost 300 percent of its official capacity. Nicaragua followed with 177.6 percent of occupancy level. The lowest prison occupancy rate was found in Belize, which, with 67 percent, was the only country whose prison system was not overcrowded. That year, El Salvador had the highest prison population rate in Central America.