
The region
In a geographical sense, Central America refers to the land bridge in the middle of the American continent. Politically, Central America is the small region, situated between North America and South America, including the seven countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region borders Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were the first of the seven Central American states to become independent in 1838, succeeded by El Salvador in 1841, Panama in 1903 and Belize in 1981.
Due to cultural similarities, Central America is considered part of Latin America. While the humanitarian and sociopolitical situation in Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama is generally stable, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are plagued by violence, hunger, poverty and human rights violations. Central America covers an area of around 522,000 square kilometers. As of 2023, the region had an estimated population of some 52.7 million people.
The humanitarian situation
The North of Central America (NCA) – also called the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) – is a sub-region comprising El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and one of the most dangerous places on earth. Nicaragua is bordering the Northern Triangle. Gang violence, threats, extortion, persecution and sexual violence have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in search of safety. More than 1.2 million people from Central America have been uprooted from their homes, while some 7.7 million people across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras face moderate to severe food insecurity.
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua - some of the poorest countries in Latin America - are prone to a variety of natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and hurricanes during the June–November Atlantic hurricane season. Furthermore, some of these countries are vulnerable to droughts and volcanic eruptions.
Recurring natural disasters exacerbate food insecurity and other humanitarian needs among vulnerable people. Heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides throughout northern Central America adversely affect millions of people. Central America's Dry Corridor, which includes parts of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, regularly experiences extreme weather events that affect agricultural production, food supplies, and people's livelihoods.
Persistent insecurity, instability, poverty and hunger in Central America have forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Many Central Americans, particularly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, suffer from extreme gang violence, crime, corruption, and lack of opportunities, which compel them to flee or migrate. The number of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and asylum seekers from the region has soared in the last years. Overall, more than 1.2 million people from Central America have been uprooted from their homes, both within their own countries and in neighboring ones.
As of January 2024, there are over 687,800 refugees and asylum-seekers from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala worldwide, while more than 250,000 Nicaraguans have sought international protection globallay. Since April 2018, political turmoil in Nicaragua continues to drive large-scale displacement. At least 318,000 people are internally displaced within Honduras and El Salvador.
Host communities for refugees and IDPs are primarily situated in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama. The number of refugees and migrants travelling north by land through Central America has also increased massively since the beginning of 2022, and further increased during 2023.
In 2023, at least 530,000 people - more than double the number in 2022 - crossed the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia to continue their journey through Central America. The Darién Gap is a geographical area of rainforest that connects Central America to South America. Despite its dangers, the land bridge has become an important corridor for migrants and refugees attempting to cross from South America through Central America to Mexico and the United States.
In 2023, 7.7 million people in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras faced moderate to severe food insecurity – nearly a quarter of their combined population.
In El Salvador, a June 2023 food security survey estimated that more than 1 million people - about 17 percent of the population - face moderate to severe food insecurity, mainly due to economic and climate-related factors, particularly the current drought and El Niño, which is expected to continue into early 2024.
In Guatemala, among the most vulnerable people are food-insecure households and severely malnourished children under the age of 5. From June to August 2023, approximately 4.3 million people faced significant levels of acute food insecurity, coinciding with the lean season, and this number was expected to decline to 3.1 million people from September 2023 to February 2024, the harvest season.
In Honduras, about 25 percent of the population (2.4 million people) faced food insecurity during the seasonal food deficit period from June to August 2023. Of these, 2.07 million people experienced crisis levels of food insecurity and 352,000 people faced emergency situations. Although there has been a slight improvement since 2023, food insecurity could worsen in 2024 due to further drought conditions caused by El Niño.
In 2024, the United Nations estimates that 9.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection in the Northern Triangle of Central America, including 1.1 million in El Salvador, 5.3 million in Guatemala, and 2.8 million in Honduras.
This year, humanitarian agencies are aiming to reach some 500,000 of the most vulnerable people in El Salvador. In Honduras, they will try to meet the needs of 1.3 million people. In Guatemala, they are targeting 2.5 million people. In total, about 46 percent of those in need will be targeted.
The security situation
Murder rates in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are among the highest in the world. Rising crime and extreme violence fueled by gangs and drug cartels, as well as weak institutions, are responsible for much of the increasing displacement in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The situation is exacerbated by rising inequalities and the impact of climate-related disasters. In Nicaragua, political violence against opposition members is forcing people to flee.
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras continue to be the most criminally violent countries in the world, with women, LGBTIQ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people), children, youth and people with disabilities suffering a disproportionate impact of the violence. Humanitarians on the ground compare the high levels of violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to those in war zones.
Organized criminal groups, including local and transnational gangs as well as drug traffickers, are significant perpetrators of violent crimes. They commit killings, acts of homicide, extortion, torture, kidnapping, human trafficking, intimidation, and other threats and violence. Violence is directed against police, human rights defenders, judicial authorities, the business community, journalists, bloggers, women, and members of vulnerable populations.
Impunity remains widespread. Armed gangs operate with near impunity in certain parts of the Northern Triangle of Central America, often targeting children and adolescents who refuse to join their gangs or participate in criminal activities. Corruption, concerted efforts by organized criminal actors, and the undermining of anti-corruption institutions and the judiciary by corrupt political actors make it difficult to meaningfully investigate and prosecute crimes, including corruption, involving public officials.
The prevalence and violence of gangs and organized crime have a severe impact on the lives and rights of millions of people. Punitive and militarized responses have, in some cases, led to serious human rights violations and may further fuel violence. In 2023 and 2024, violent incidents in El Salvador have decreased, allowing greater access to communities previously controlled by gangs.
Authorities commit widespread human rights violations, especially in El Salvador and Nicaragua. In March 2022, El Salvador's Legislative Assembly declared a state of emergency and suspended basic human rights in response to gang violence. In 2024, the state of emergency remains in effect.
Human rights groups say the Nicaraguan government of President Daniel Ortega intensified its systematic repression of critics, journalists, and human rights defenders in 2023. The Nicaraguan government reportedly closed more than 3,390 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) between 2018 and 2023.
Donations
Your donation for the Central America emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.
- UNHCR Emergencies: Displacement in Central America
https://www.unhcr.org/displacement-in-central-america.html - Catholic Relief Services (CRS): Help Families Facing Crisis in Central America and the Caribbean
https://support.crs.org/donate/central-american-families
Currently, there are only a few active appeals for the Central America crisis. You may also consider making a broader earmarked donation or an unearmarked donation for organizations active in the region.
- Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Central American Migration in depth
https://www.msf.org/central-american-migration-depth - Doctors Without Borders USA: Central American migration crisis
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/focus/migration-crisis-americas - Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): North of Central America and Mexico
https://www.nrc.no/countries/south-america/north-central-america-and-mexico/ - UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean: Migrant and refugee crisis
https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/topics/migrant-and-refugee-crisis - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): Mexico & Central American migration crisis
https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/mexico-central-american-migration-crisis - Action Against Hunger: Latin America & the Caribbean
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/location/americas/ - Save the Children US: Donate to Help Children in Latin America
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/latin-america - World Food Programme (WFP): Donations
https://donatenow.wfp.org/ - International Rescue Committee (IRC): Donations
https://help.rescue.org/donate
To find other organizations to which you can donate, visit: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations, and Human Rights Organizations.
Further Information
- ACAPS: Central America, Complex crises and migration in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, thematic report, January 2023
https://www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/products/files/20230105_acaps_global_analysis_hub_thematic_report_on_migration_in_central_america_0.pdf - USA for UNHCR: Central America Displacement Crisis Explained
https://www.unrefugees.org/news/central-america-displacement-crisis-explained/ - UN OCHA: Latin America and the Caribbean in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2024
https://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2024/article/latin-america-and-caribbean-1 - European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO): Central America and Mexico
https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/latin-america-and-caribbean/central-america-and-mexico_en - Council on Foreign Relations: Central America’s Turbulent Northern Triangle
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/central-americas-turbulent-northern-triangle - International Crisis Group: Central America
https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/central-america - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: Nicaragua
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/nicaragua - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: El Salvador
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/el-salvador - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: Guatemala
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/guatemala - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: Honduras
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/honduras
Last updated: 08/03/2024