North America Countries and Capitals: All 23 Countries

North America can be defined in different ways. Under the United Nations M49 statistical system, North America includes Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean. This broader regional grouping contains more sovereign countries than the narrower three-country grouping of Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

The 23 sovereign countries in this North America grouping are separated from territories and dependencies such as Puerto Rico, Greenland, Bermuda, and Aruba. These non-sovereign areas are included later as a separate geographic reference rather than being counted among the 23 countries.

All North American and Caribbean Country Capitals

The sovereign countries are grouped by UN M49 subregion: Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

North American and Caribbean Sovereign Countries and Capitals

Subregion	Country	Capital	ISO Alpha-3	M49 Numeric Code	Useful Note
Northern America	Canada	Ottawa	CAN	124	Federal capital in Ontario, near the Ottawa River.
Northern America	United States	Washington, D.C.	USA	840	Federal district; not part of any U.S. state.
Central America	Mexico	Mexico City	MEX	484	Officially Ciudad de México in Spanish.
Central America	Belize	Belmopan	BLZ	084	Inland capital; Belize City is the largest urban center.
Central America	Costa Rica	San José	CRI	188	Located in the Central Valley.
Central America	El Salvador	San Salvador	SLV	222	Main political and administrative center.
Central America	Guatemala	Guatemala City	GTM	320	Largest city and national capital.
Central America	Honduras	Tegucigalpa	HND	340	Often listed together with Comayagüela as the central district.
Central America	Nicaragua	Managua	NIC	558	Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua.
Central America	Panama	Panama City	PAN	591	Capital near the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal.
Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda	St. John’s	ATG	028	Located on Antigua, the larger main island.
Caribbean	The Bahamas	Nassau	BHS	044	Located on New Providence Island.
Caribbean	Barbados	Bridgetown	BRB	052	Port capital on the southwest coast.
Caribbean	Cuba	Havana	CUB	192	Spanish name: La Habana.
Caribbean	Dominica	Roseau	DMA	212	Capital on the island’s western coast.
Caribbean	Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	DOM	214	Located on the southern coast of Hispaniola.
Caribbean	Grenada	St. George’s	GRD	308	Harbor capital on Grenada Island.
Caribbean	Haiti	Port-au-Prince	HTI	332	Located on the Gulf of Gonâve.
Caribbean	Jamaica	Kingston	JAM	388	Capital on Jamaica’s southeastern coast.
Caribbean	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	KNA	659	Located on Saint Kitts.
Caribbean	Saint Lucia	Castries	LCA	662	Capital and main port on the northwest coast.
Caribbean	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	VCT	670	Located on Saint Vincent Island.
Caribbean	Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	TTO	780	Located on Trinidad, the larger island.

Regional Scope and Classification

North America, Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean refer to different geographic levels in the UN M49 system. North America is the wider grouping, while the other three are its subregions.

In the UN M49 regional system, North America is the wider region. It includes three subregions: Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Northern America includes Canada, the United States, Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the statistical list. Mexico is not placed under Northern America in that system; it is placed under Central America.

Different geography conventions can therefore produce different country totals for North America. Under the UN M49 grouping used here, the sovereign-state total is 23: 2 in Northern America, 8 in Central America, and 13 in the Caribbean. A narrower three-country convention treats Canada, the United States, and Mexico as the main continental grouping but does not represent the full UN M49 North America region.

Northern America

Northern America contains the two sovereign countries most often associated with the northern part of the continent: Canada and the United States. Their capitals are Ottawa and Washington, D.C.

Ottawa is not Canada’s largest city; that distinction belongs to Toronto. Washington, D.C. is also not a state capital. It is a federal district created for national government functions. This distinction matters because readers often mix up largest city and capital city.

Central America

Central America in this list includes Mexico and the seven countries of the Central American isthmus: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region forms a land bridge between the larger northern landmass and South America.

Several Central American capitals are also the largest or main urban centers of their countries, such as Guatemala City, Managua, and Panama City. One clear exception is Belmopan, the capital of Belize, while Belize City remains better known internationally.

Caribbean

The Caribbean country list includes 13 sovereign states. Most are island countries, although the term Caribbean may also appear in wider cultural, maritime, or geographic use. The capitals include Havana, Kingston, Santo Domingo, Bridgetown, and Port of Spain.

St. John’s, St. George’s, and Kingstown are three distinct Caribbean capitals. St. John’s is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, St. George’s is the capital of Grenada, and Kingstown is the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Capital Names That Are Often Confused

Some capital names in North America and the Caribbean look similar, sound similar, or are commonly confused with larger cities. The main examples include Ottawa and Toronto, Washington and New York City, Belmopan and Belize City, and the similar Caribbean names St. John’s and St. George’s.

Commonly Confused Capitals in North America and the Caribbean

Common Confusion	Correct Capital	Country	Clear Difference
Toronto vs. Ottawa	Ottawa	Canada	Toronto is the largest city; Ottawa is the national capital.
New York City vs. Washington, D.C.	Washington, D.C.	United States	New York City is the largest city; Washington, D.C. is the federal capital.
Belize City vs. Belmopan	Belmopan	Belize	Belize City is larger and older; Belmopan is the capital.
St. John’s vs. St. George’s	St. John’s / St. George’s	Antigua and Barbuda / Grenada	St. John’s belongs to Antigua and Barbuda; St. George’s belongs to Grenada.
Kingston vs. Kingstown	Kingston / Kingstown	Jamaica / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingston is Jamaica’s capital; Kingstown is the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Mexico City vs. State Capitals in Mexico	Mexico City	Mexico	Mexico has many state capitals, but Mexico City is the national capital.

Technical Data for Regional Reference

ISO Alpha-3 codes and UN M49 numeric codes provide standardized identifiers for countries and geographic groupings. They are useful when names vary between languages or when geographic data is stored in maps, databases, and statistical systems.

North America and Caribbean Region Codes

Region Name	M49 Code	What It Covers	Country Count in This Article
North America	003	Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean	23 sovereign countries
Northern America	021	Canada, United States, and several non-sovereign areas in standard statistical use	2 sovereign countries
Central America	013	Mexico and the Central American isthmus countries in this classification	8 sovereign countries
Caribbean	029	Caribbean countries and areas	13 sovereign countries

Territories and Dependencies Often Included in Regional Lists

The UN M49 system also includes non-sovereign areas within North America. These territories and dependencies have capitals or administrative centers, but they are not independent sovereign countries and are therefore excluded from the 23-country total.

North American and Caribbean Territories, Dependencies, and Administrative Centers

Area	Administrative Center or Capital	ISO Alpha-3	M49 Numeric Code	Subregion
Anguilla	The Valley	AIA	660	Caribbean
Aruba	Oranjestad	ABW	533	Caribbean
Bermuda	Hamilton	BMU	060	Northern America
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	Kralendijk, Oranjestad, and The Bottom	BES	535	Caribbean
British Virgin Islands	Road Town	VGB	092	Caribbean
Cayman Islands	George Town	CYM	136	Caribbean
Curaçao	Willemstad	CUW	531	Caribbean
Greenland	Nuuk	GRL	304	Northern America
Guadeloupe	Basse-Terre	GLP	312	Caribbean
Martinique	Fort-de-France	MTQ	474	Caribbean
Montserrat	Brades (de facto government center; Plymouth remains the de jure capital)	MSR	500	Caribbean
Puerto Rico	San Juan	PRI	630	Caribbean
Saint Barthélemy	Gustavia	BLM	652	Caribbean
Saint Martin	Marigot	MAF	663	Caribbean
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Saint-Pierre	SPM	666	Northern America
Sint Maarten	Philipsburg	SXM	534	Caribbean
Turks and Caicos Islands	Cockburn Town	TCA	796	Caribbean
United States Virgin Islands	Charlotte Amalie	VIR	850	Caribbean

Capital Spelling and Style Notes

Capital names in this region reflect English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and local naming traditions. Standard English forms retain accents, apostrophes, and hyphens where they are normally used, including San José, St. John’s, St. George’s, and Port-au-Prince.

Accents and Marks

• San José is often written with an accent on the final “e.”
• Port-au-Prince uses hyphens in standard English spelling.
• St. John’s and St. George’s use apostrophes.
• Washington, D.C. is usually written with periods in “D.C.”
• Mexico City may appear as Ciudad de México in Spanish-language contexts.

Capital Versus Largest City

A capital is the seat of national government. It is not necessarily the largest city, busiest port, or most populous urban area in the country. Population size and economic prominence do not determine capital status.

Ottawa, Belmopan, and Washington, D.C. show this clearly. Ottawa is the capital of Canada, not Toronto. Belmopan is the capital of Belize, not Belize City. Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States, not New York City.

Alphabetical List of Countries and Capitals

Each country in the alphabetical list retains the same UN M49 subregion used in the main country table.

Alphabetical Country-Capital List

Country	Capital	Subregion
Antigua and Barbuda	St. John’s	Caribbean
The Bahamas	Nassau	Caribbean
Barbados	Bridgetown	Caribbean
Belize	Belmopan	Central America
Canada	Ottawa	Northern America
Costa Rica	San José	Central America
Cuba	Havana	Caribbean
Dominica	Roseau	Caribbean
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	Caribbean
El Salvador	San Salvador	Central America
Grenada	St. George’s	Caribbean
Guatemala	Guatemala City	Central America
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	Caribbean
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	Central America
Jamaica	Kingston	Caribbean
Mexico	Mexico City	Central America
Nicaragua	Managua	Central America
Panama	Panama City	Central America
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	Caribbean
Saint Lucia	Castries	Caribbean
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	Caribbean
United States	Washington, D.C.	Northern America

Capitals by Subregion

Northern America Capitals

• Canada — Ottawa
• United States — Washington, D.C.

Central America Capitals

• Mexico — Mexico City
• Belize — Belmopan
• Costa Rica — San José
• El Salvador — San Salvador
• Guatemala — Guatemala City
• Honduras — Tegucigalpa
• Nicaragua — Managua
• Panama — Panama City

Caribbean Capitals

• Antigua and Barbuda — St. John’s
• The Bahamas — Nassau
• Barbados — Bridgetown
• Cuba — Havana
• Dominica — Roseau
• Dominican Republic — Santo Domingo
• Grenada — St. George’s
• Haiti — Port-au-Prince
• Jamaica — Kingston
• Saint Kitts and Nevis — Basseterre
• Saint Lucia — Castries
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — Kingstown
• Trinidad and Tobago — Port of Spain

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Sovereign Countries Are in North America and the Caribbean?

There are 23 sovereign countries in the broad North America grouping used here: 2 in Northern America, 8 in Central America, and 13 in the Caribbean.

What Is the Capital of North America?

North America is a continent or region, not a country, so it does not have one capital. Each country has its own capital, such as Ottawa for Canada, Washington, D.C. for the United States, Mexico City for Mexico, and Havana for Cuba.

Is Mexico in North America or Central America?

Mexico is part of North America in broad geographic use. In the UN M49 statistical grouping, Mexico is placed under Central America, which is one of the subregions inside North America.

Are Caribbean Territories Counted as Countries?

No. Places such as Puerto Rico, Aruba, Bermuda, Greenland, and the Cayman Islands often appear in regional lists, but they are not sovereign countries. They are best listed separately from independent countries.

What Is the Capital of the Caribbean?

The Caribbean is a region, not a single country, so it has no single capital. The region contains many capitals, including Nassau, Bridgetown, Havana, Kingston, Santo Domingo, Roseau, and Port of Spain.

Which North American Country Has the Capital Belmopan?

Belmopan is the capital of Belize. Belize City is better known and larger, but Belmopan is the national capital.

Which Countries Have Capitals Starting With “Saint” or “St.”?

Several capital names use “Saint” or “St.” in English. St. John’s is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, and St. George’s is the capital of Grenada. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has Kingstown as its capital, not “Saint Vincent.”