How many countries in North America are there?
Well, surprisingly, the answer is not two (Canada and the USA) or three if you think Mexico as well.
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The correct answer to the “How many countries in North America” question is: There are 23 countries on the continent of North America.
I was lucky to visit all the countries of North America, but just like you, I was surprised what is and isn’t a country in the Caribbean region that belongs to the continent of North America.
Let me explain how countries in North America are defined. We start with the three big ones, then Central America and the Caribbean islands/countries.
Some of them are actually not countries of North America but overseas territories. This makes it even harder to answer the question “How many countries in North America are there?” correctly.
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The North American Continent is dominated by three large countries: Canada, the United States of America and Mexico.
I have spent a lot of time here, I even lived in the USA. But the best fun was probably relocating a motorhome in the USA for just $1 a day along Route 66! What a trip!
Mexico is one of the best countries in the world, so it is no surprise I got stuck there for a while. I was on an adventure to find out which 5 cities have the best food in Mexico.
I even learned how to speak Spanish and ate a lot of amazing food in Oaxaca (also the number one best food city on my list).
If you need a reason to travel to Mexico, here are 10 of them.
The continents of North America and South America merge in the region commonly referred to as Central America.
The seven countries in Central America do, however, belong to the continent of North America. Confused? Well, yes, I can understand why.
Central America is definitely seen as its own region and could be called a subcontinent, but when it comes to continents, all countries of Central America are well and truly part of North America.
I have travelled the length of Central America overland, this journey involved everything from buses, chicken buses and even tricycles to cross borders! It was fun! And I travelled on a 25 USD per day budget!
I loved the region for all the food you can eat, from amazing dishes in Costa Rica to eating some new meals in Nicaragua.
How many countries in North America are there? So far we have 10 countries, but wait there is more! The Caribbean!
Ok, I admit. This was the strangest thing to get my head around it. Of course, I know that there are 7 continents in the world so the island countries need to belong somewhere!
But as I was island hopping the Caribbean it felt different to my other experiences in North America.
So what are countries in the Caribbean that are considered countries of North America?
This adds up to 23 countries in North America. Did I miss any?
You might be thinking, wait where is Aruba, Puerto Rico or the Cayman Islands? Well, these are not countries of the Caribbean and they don’t make the list of countries in North America either.
Why? Well, the Caribbean is a region with many islands that are overseas territories of other countries. In fact, there are many of them!
As the Europeans colonised the Caribbean, many islands are still overseas territories of other European countries. I guess for some islands it can provide an income for tourism and also they can tap into the national budget of the country they belong to.
Or they just never really had a chance to be independent! But I am sure there might be islands considering independence as many of the neighbouring countries have done.
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Now that we establish that there are 23 countries in North America, it might not be a surprise that a few languages are spoken in North America: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, and dialects of Creole, which blends elements of European and African languages.
Plus, many indigenous languages from Inuktitut (Canada), Navajo & Cherokee (USA), Nahuatl, Maya, Otomí, Mixteco (Mexico), Mayan (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador), Miskito (Nicaragua and Honduras), Ngabere (Panama and Costa Rica) Garifuna (Honduras), Kuna (Panama).
And there you have it. There are 23 countries in North America in total, so let’s look at them in alphabetical order with flags, capital cities and currency.
Flag | Country Name | Capital | Currency |
Antigua and Barbuda | St. John’s | East Caribbean dollar | |
Bahamas | Nassau | Bahamian dollar | |
Barbados | Bridgetown | Barbadian dollar | |
Belize | Belmopan | Belize dollar | |
Canada | Ottawa | Canadian dollar | |
Costa Rica | San José | Costa Rican colón | |
Cuba | Havana | Cuban peso /Cuban convertible peso | |
Dominica | Roseau | East Caribbean dollar | |
Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo | Dominican peso | |
El Salvador | San Salvador | United States dollar | |
Grenada | St. George’s | East Caribbean dollar | |
Guatemala | Guatemala City | Guatemalan quetzal | |
Haiti | Port-au-Prince | Haitian gourde | |
Honduras | Tegucigalpa | Honduran lempira | |
Jamaica | Kingston | Jamaican dollar | |
Mexico | Mexico City | Mexican peso | |
Nicaragua | Managua | Nicaraguan córdoba | |
Panama | Panama City | Panamanian balboa / United States dollar | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre | East Caribbean dollar | |
Saint Lucia | Castries | East Caribbean dollar | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown | East Caribbean dollar | |
Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago dollar | |
United States | Washington | United States dollar |
And that’s all for the ultimate explanation of the “How many countries are there in North America are there?” question.
You might also be interested to find out how many countries in the world there are, the smallest countries in Europe or maybe this helpful blog can help you not to confuse Slovakia and Slovenia ever again.
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2 Comments. Leave new
How about France? St. Pierre and Michelon, off the coast of Newfoundland, are French territory.
Good point. 🙂