The third largest continent in the world, North and Central America encompasses 23 countries, a large number of territories and extends over nearly five percent of the Earth’s total surface area. To the north it is bordered by the Arctic Ocean, to the east, the Atlantic, to the southeast the Caribbean Sea as well as the Gulf of Mexico and to the west the Pacific. Situated in both the northern and western hemispheres, the climate varies dramatically throughout the continent as do culture and language with English and Spanish the most common tongues.