Central America
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Guatemala

Population: 13,686,399 inhabitants
Land surface: 108,890 km2
Currency: Quetzal
GDP per capita: US$ 4,568
Language: Spanish
Official name: República de Guatemala.
Capital: Guatemala 951,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Mixco 268,300; Villa Nueva 129,600; Quetzaltenango 115,900; Escuintla 63,400; Chinautla 47,500.
Government: presidential
Religion: predominantly Catholic; various forms of syncretism with the Mayan religion are practiced. In recent years various evangelical sects have proliferated.

  Geography. The Sierra Madre and the Sierra of the Cuchumatan cross the country from east to west. They are the scenery of volcanic activity and earthquakes. Among them is the Altiplano region, which has sandy soils, is steep and easily eroded. The Altiplano occupies 26% of the territory and accounts for 53% of the population. There are coffee plantations and subsistence crops of the peasant communities. The side by the Atlantic coast, which is the largest and is covered with tropical forests, is less populated. There are banana, sugar cane, cotton and coffee plantations in the valleys of the Caribbean and the lowlands of the Pacific.

Honduras

Population: 7,246,016 inhabitants
Land surface: 112,090 km2
Currency: Lempira
GDP per capita: US$ 3,430
Language: Spanish
Official name: República de Honduras.
Capital: Tegucigalpa 919,000 inhabitants (1999).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): San Pedro Sula 616,500; La Ceiba 108,900; El Progreso 106,500; Choluteca 93,100.
Government: presidential
Religion: Catholics 85%; Protestants 10 %.

   Geography. 80% of the country is covered by mountains and forests. The country concentrates its population and economic activities in the Caribbean coast and the southern highlands near the border with El Salvador. The largest banana plantations in Central America are located in the coastal plains. There are crops of coffee, snuff and corn in the south. The availability of electricity has grown considerably. The Piedras Amarillas hydroelectric project was approved and put in place, which is one of the largest in the country capable of generating 100mW.

Nicaragua

Population: 5,676,067 inhabitants
Land surface: 130,000 km2
Currency: Córdoba
GDP per capita: US$ 3,674
Language: Spanish
Religion: Catholics (85%); Protestants (15%) Official name: República de Nicaragua.
Capital: Managua 1,098,000 (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): León 153,200; Chinandega 120,400; Masaya 110,000; Granada 88,800. Government: presidential.

   Geography. It is the largest country in Central America with coastlines on both the Pacific and the Caribbean. Two major mountain systems cross it: the Central Andes, from northwest to southeast, and on the west coast, a volcanic system, which has several active volcanoes. Lakes Managua and Nicaragua are located between the two chains. The climate is tropical, with abundant rainfall to the east and drier to west, where the population is concentrated. The main cash crop in the area is cotton and the banana in the Atlantic coast.

   1. Indicate which country the statement refers to: Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua.

The capital is Managua

  

It is the most populated country

  

80% of its territory is composed of mountains and jungles

 

It has the highest GDP per capita

  

It is the largest country

  

It cultivates cotton

  

It has many banana plantations

  

The capital is Guatemala

  

The capital is Tegucigalpa

  

61% of the population descends from the Mayans

  

Costa Rica

Population: 4,534,435 inhabitants
Land surface: 51,100 km2
Currency: Costa Rican Colón
GDP per capita: US$ 10.180
Language: Spanish
Official name: República de Costa Rica.
Capital: San José 1,085,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Alajuela 716,286; Cartago 432,395; Limón 339,295.
Government: presidential
Religion: 76.3% of the population is Catholic; Evangelical Protestants 13.7%; Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%

   Geography. Costa Rica has a mountain range in the northwest-southeast direction with large volcanic cones crossing the country. It has the highest densities of rural population in Latin America, in general of small and medium farmers using modern farming techniques. Coffee is the main cash crop. The lowlands of the Caribbean coast and the Pacific differ in their climatic and vegetation conditions: cacao is grown in the Caribbean, which has dense rainforests; ranching is practiced and rice and sugar cane are cultivated with artificial irrigation in the Pacific, which has a drier climate.

El Salvador

Population: 6,952,819 inhabitants
Land surface: 21,040 km2
Currency: US Dollar, Salvadorian Colón
GDP per capita: US$ 5,255
Language: Spanish
Religion: predominantly Catholic
Official name: República de El Salvador.
Capital: San Salvador 1,424,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Santa Ana 538,800; San Miguel 473,300.
Government: presidential.

   Geography. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. It is the most densely populated and the only one lacking coasts on the Caribbean Sea. A chain of volcanoes crosses the country from east to west and its climate is moderate due to its altitude. Coffee is the main commercial product in the highlands, where subsistence farming is also carried out: corn, beans and rice. In warmer areas, there are sugar cane plantations on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Panama

Population: 3,398,912 inhabitants
Land surface: 75,520 km2
Currency: Balboa
GDP per capita: US$ 7,605
Language: Spanish
Religion: Catholics (80%); Protestants, predominantly Evangelical (10%); Muslims (5%); Bahai (1%); Jews (0.3%); others (3.7%). Official name: República de Panamá
Capital: Panamá 930,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): San Miguelito 331,692; Colón 59,746; David 79,100.
Government: presidential.

   Geography. Panama is an eminently maritime country, surrounded in the north by the Caribbean Sea and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. A considerable altitude mountain range divides it into two distinct plains: a narrow and jungle-like on the Caribbean side, and a wider and woods-like on the Pacific side. Panama’s navigation channel and its commercial and financial activities are the backbone of the economy. Furthermore, tropical products are grown and copper is extracted from the large deposits of the Cerro Colorado.

   2. Indicate which country the statement refers to: Costa Rica, Panama, or El Salvador.

The capital is Panamá

  

It is the most populated country

  

It uses modern agricultural techniques

  

The capital is San Salvador

  

It is the largest country

  

It has the highest GDP per capita

  

It cultivates rice and sugar cane

  

It does not have coasts in the Caribbean

 

The capital is San José

  

It is the smallest country in Central America

 

    3. Otro país de Centroamérica:

Country Population Extension, km2 Capital Currency Language
Belize 293.717 22.970 Belmopán Belize Dollar English

   4. Indicate the capital of the following countries:

Panama

  

Honduras

  

Costa Rica

  

Nicaragua

  

Guatemala

  

El Salvador

  

Belize

  

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