Honuras (pronounced /hɒnˈd(j)ʊərəs/; in Spanish, República de Honduras Spanish pronunciation: [onˈduɾas]) is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.