North American Countries Quiz

Name every country in North America and the Caribbean.

Name all 23 North American countries — and discover that the continent is not three countries but twenty-three.

Twenty-three, not three

The single most common misconception in this quiz is that North America means Canada, the United States and Mexico. It does not. Central America and the Caribbean are part of North America, not separate continents, which takes the count to twenty-three.

That one fact turns a three-answer quiz into a twenty-three-answer one, and it is where nearly all the difficulty lives.

The three tiers

The mainland three — Canada, United States, Mexico.

Central America (7) — Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama.

The Caribbean (13) — Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica.

Central America's outlier

Belize is the one people miss. It is the only Central American country where English is the official language, reflecting British rather than Spanish colonisation, and it is small and easy to scan past on a map between Mexico and Guatemala.

The Caribbean thirteen

This is where the quiz is decided, and the confusions are specific:

Dominica and the Dominican Republic are entirely different countries. Dominica is a small English-speaking island; the Dominican Republic is much larger, Spanish-speaking, and shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic share one island — the only Caribbean island divided between two sovereign states.

The Saints — Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis — are three separate countries and are frequently collapsed into one in people's minds.

Territories that are not countries

Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Aruba, Curaçao, Martinique and Guadeloupe all appear on maps of the region and are territories of other countries rather than independent states. That is why they do not appear in a country count, and why the Caribbean looks fuller on a map than the list suggests.

Where to go next

North American Capitals covers the same countries, and its Caribbean half — Basseterre, Roseau, Castries, Saint John's, Kingstown — is considerably harder than the country names.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries are in North America?

Twenty-three sovereign states, because Central America and the Caribbean are part of North America rather than separate continents. The assumption that it means only Canada, the United States and Mexico is the most common error in this quiz.

Is Central America a separate continent?

No. It is part of North America, as is the Caribbean. North America runs from Canada down through Mexico and Central America to Panama and includes the Caribbean islands.

What is the difference between Dominica and the Dominican Republic?

They are separate countries. Dominica is a small English-speaking island whose capital is Roseau. The Dominican Republic is much larger, Spanish-speaking, shares Hispaniola with Haiti, and has its capital at Santo Domingo.

Which Central American country speaks English?

Belize, reflecting British rather than Spanish colonisation. It is also the Central American country most often missed when naming the region, being small and easy to overlook between Mexico and Guatemala.

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