Not including Mexico, there are 7:

Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Central America is bordered by Mexico to the north and Colombia (South America) to the south. Mexico is sometimes discussed along with Central America because it shares a common language and history, and many similar topographic features (especially southern Mexico).
there are 15

----------------

As per my account (and official too...), they are... 20 indepedent countries!
13 duh its easy as pie

----------------------------

So I think a pie is not so easy... There are TWENTY (20) countries in... Central America, lol... Perhaps you were thinking of Caribbean only, or of... South America (but this latter has... 12 - French Guyana is not a real country, but a department of... European France, yeah!

Let´s count them then:

- CENTRAL AMERICA - Continental part: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama = 7 + Caribbean islands as independent countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & Grenadines, The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago = 13; total: 20;

- SOUTH AMERICA (French Guyana not included): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Perou, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela; total: 12;

Now... NORTH AMERICA: Canada, Mexico, United States (Greenland is not yet independent in fact); total: 3;

GENERAL AMOUNT - AMERICAN countries: 20 + 12 + 3 = 35.
It has 7 countries

Five bodies of water in central america include; The Gulf of Fonseca, The Gulf of Nicoya, The Gulf of Chiriqui, The Gulf of Panama, and Lake Nicaragua.

It is Central America, composed by:

• Guatemala
• Belize
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica
• Panama

Sometimes Mexico is regarded as part of Central America, but geographically, it is on the southern tip of North America.

Mexico is within North America, if you use the seven-continent definition (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Antarctica). This is demonstrated by the fact that Mexico is located within the North American tectonic plate.

Mexico is however, associated with Central and even South America due to economic and cultural reasons, but this is incorrect, as Mexico's location depends upon geographical/geophysical considerations, not cultural. If you say that Mexico belongs to Central America just because it is near the bottom of North America, or that it shares traits with Guatemala or Panama, you could argue that Greenland is part of Europe just because it is only a few hundred miles from Iceland (which is firmly European) or they are protectorate of Denmark. This is also heavily rooted in discrimination and xenophobia, as many question 'how come a third world country can be grouped together with highly-developed Canada and America?'

Now, on cultural terms, Mexico is part of Latin America as much as Canada and the United States are part of Angloamerica.

The most important natural resource produced within the Latin American region is crude petroleum; 4 out of the 20 largest oil producing countries in the world are located there (Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia). Also, some of the largest producers of other mineral resources are located within the region, such as Chile (copper), Mexico (silver) and Peru (gold).

Resources of the top 5 largest Latin American economies include:

• Brazil - bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber.
• Mexico - petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber.
• Argentina - lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium.
• Colombia - petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower.
• Venezuela - petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, hydropower, diamonds.