Central America only contains non-sovereign states.
Central America consists of seven countries : Belize , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , and Panama .	Belize	Belize	Costa Rica	Costa Rica	El Salvador	El Salvador	Guatemala	Guatemala	Honduras	Honduras	Nicaragua	Nicaragua	Panama	Panama
It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire , followed by membership in the United Provinces of Central America , from which it formally declared sovereignty in 1847 .	First Mexican Empire	First Mexican Empire	Central America	Central America	United Provinces of Central America	United Provinces of Central America
Following a brief civil war , it permanently abolished its army in 1949 , becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army .	brief civil war	Costa Rican Civil War	abolished its army	Military of Costa Rica	nations without a standing army	List of countries without armed forces
