Central America

Central America called in a geographical sense, the land bridge between North and South America. Geographically, Central America begins in the north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, in the south it ranges depending on the definition to the Isthmus of Darién in Südpanama or to Atratosenke in Colombia. To the east is the Caribbean Sea, in the western Pacific Ocean. Central America can be viewed both as an independent land mass as well as the southern region of the North American continent.

Depending on the specification of the limits has Central America between 510,000 km ² 750,000 km ², and between 40 and 50 million inhabitants. The largest city in the region is Guatemala City with almost three million inhabitants.

Central America, together with the West Indies and a portion of Mexico, Central America region.

States

Usually the areas of Mexico and Colombia are excluded and counted only the States to Central America listed in the table seven. This definition follows the common past of the countries Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, which formed the Central American confederation after the Spanish colonial rule.

Geological conditions

Geologically, Central America, for the most part on the Caribbean plate, to a lesser extent, also on the North American plate. Before the Pacific Coast in the west, the Cocos subducted under the Caribbean Plate, which volcanism and numerous, often severe earthquakes are triggered.

Population

Development of the population (in millions)

Central American Integration System

Since independence, the region of Spain in 1821, there were at least 14 attempts at integration.

Between 1823 and 1838, was the Central American confederation to confederation between states whose culturally inclusive echo can be seen for example in the uniform blue-white- blue national colors of the successor states today.

Since the 1950s, the States accelerated with a view to European integration and international models of free trade areas and customs unions another integration process in order to be qualified by a common trade dependency on the world market. In the course of these efforts, the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration ( Secretaría de la Integración Económica Centroamericana, SIECA ) was established in 1963, which should cover the scope of coming into force in the same year Agreement on Economic Integration ( Tratado General de Integración Económica Centroamericana ). The agreement created a free trade zone for almost everyone in the field manufactured products. The intra-regional trade volume grew by 6 million U.S. dollars in 1963 to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 1999.

The civil wars occurring in the late 1970s in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatelama brought back steps for further integration.

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