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. Several of the countries have a predominance of mixed Amerindian–European, or mestizo, population, while a minority are more inhabited by those of greater 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. Demographics of Latin America Central American Admixture began with the arrival of the Spaniards to Central America, whose consequences could still be perceived in the present-day Central American Society. Mestizos are the result of the admixture between Spaniards and Native Americans (or Amerindians) Mestizos are the majority in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Guatemala, formed by 22,425,257 inhabitants, occupying the majority of the Central American population, and all 7 countries have significant Mestizo populations.