page last updated on May 10, 2010
Flag of Guatemala
Location of Guatemala
 
Map of Guatemala
Introduction ::Guatemala
The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees.
Geography ::Guatemala
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
15 30 N, 90 15 W
total: 108,889 sq km
country comparison to the world: 106
land: 107,159 sq km
water: 1,730 sq km
slightly smaller than Tennessee
total: 1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km
400 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Current Weather
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
arable land: 13.22%
permanent crops: 5.6%
other: 81.18% (2005)
1,300 sq km (2003)
111.3 cu km (2000)
total: 2.01 cu km/yr (6%/13%/80%)
per capita: 160 cu m/yr (2000)
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
no natural harbors on west coast
People ::Guatemala
13,550,440 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
0-14 years: 38.7% (male 2,671,595/female 2,577,979)
15-64 years: 57.4% (male 3,772,229/female 4,007,541)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 241,629/female 279,467) (2010 est.)
total: 19.7 years
male: 19.1 years
female: 20.4 years (2010 est.)
2.019% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
27.4 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
5.04 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
-2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
urban population: 49% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
total: 26.91 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 80
male: 29.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 24.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
total population: 70.59 years
country comparison to the world: 144
male: 68.76 years
female: 72.51 years (2010 est.)
3.36 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
0.8% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
59,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
3,900 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
noun: Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001 census)
Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.1%
male: 75.4%
female: 63.3% (2002 census)
total: 10 years
male: 11 years
female: 10 years (2006)
2.6% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 154
Government ::Guatemala
conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala
local long form: Republica de Guatemala
local short form: Guatemala
constitutional democratic republic
name: Guatemala City
geographic coordinates: 14 37 N, 90 31 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Friday in September; note - there is no DST planned for 2010
22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; suspended 25 May 1993; reinstated 5 June 1993; amended November 1993
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day
chief of state: President Alvaro COLOM Caballeros (since 14 January 2008); Vice President Jose Rafael ESPADA (since 14 January 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro COLOM Caballeros (since 14 January 2008); Vice President Jose Rafael ESPADA (since 14 January 2008)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website Opens in New Window)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held on 9 September 2007; runoff held on 4 November 2007 (next to be held in September 2011)
election results: Alvaro COLOM Caballeros elected president; percent of vote - Alvaro COLOM Caballeros 52.8%, Otto PEREZ Molina 47.2%
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 9 September 2007 (next to be held in September 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - UNE 30.4%, GANA 23.4%, PP 18.9%, FRG 9.5%, PU 5.1%, other 12.7%; seats by party - UNE 48, GANA 37, PP 30, FRG 15, PU 8, CASA 5, EG 4, PAN 4, UCN 4, URNG 2, UD 1
Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected by Congress for concurrent five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members are elected by Congress to serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms)
Center of Social Action or CASA [Feliz Adolfo RUANO de Leon]; Democracy Front or FRENTE [Alfonso CABRERA]; Democratic Union or UD [Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera]; Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENGRO]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector Alfredo NUILA Ericastilla]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Independent Bloc Guatemala or BG [Macario Efrain OLIVA Muralles]; Independent Democratic Freedom Renewed or LIDER [Roberto Ricardo VILLATE Villatoro]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Carlos YAT Sierra]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Roberto KESTLER Velasquez]; Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Cesar Leonel SOTO Arango]; Patriot Party or PP [Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias]; Unionista Party or PU [Pablo Manuel DURATE Saenz de Tejada]
Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala or CICIG; Mutual Support Group or GAM
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco VILLAGRAN de Leon
chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952
FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Providence, San Francisco
chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen G. MCFARLAND
embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City
mailing address: APO AA 34024
telephone: [502] 2326-4000
FAX: [502] 2326-4654
three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue, with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath
Economy ::Guatemala
Guatemala is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 15% of GDP and half of the labor force; key agricultural exports include coffee, sugar, and bananas. The 1996 peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and since then Guatemala has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered into force in July 2006 spurring increased investment and diversification of exports, with the largest increases in ethanol and non-traditional agricultural exports. While CAFTA has helped improve the investment climate, concerns over security, the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continue to hamper foreign direct investment. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with the richest decile comprising over 40% of Guatemala's overall consumption. More than half of the population is below the national poverty line and 15% lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups, which make up 38% of the population, averages 76% and extreme poverty rises to 28%. 43% of children under five are chronically malnourished, one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. President COLOM entered into office with the promise to increase education, healthcare, and rural development, and in April 2008 he inaugurated a conditional cash transfer program, modeled after programs in Brazil and Mexico, that provide financial incentives for poor families to keep their children in school and get regular health check-ups. Given Guatemala's large expatriate community in the United States, it is the top remittance recipient in Central America, with inflows serving as a primary source of foreign income equivalent to nearly two-thirds of exports. The economy contracted in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets fell and foreign investment slowed amid the global recession. The economy will likely recover gradually in 2010 and return to more normal growth rates by 2012.
$69.21 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
$69.55 billion (2008 est.)
$66.88 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
$36.9 billion (2009 est.)
-0.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
4% (2008 est.)
6.3% (2007 est.)
$5,200 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
$5,300 (2008 est.)
$5,300 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 25.1%
services: 61.4% (2009 est.)
4.157 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.)
3.2% (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
56.2% (2004 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 42.4% (2006)
55.1 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 13
55.8 (1998)
16.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
revenues: $4.07 billion
expenditures: $5.563 billion (2009 est.)
32.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
25.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
2.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
11.4% (2008 est.)
NA%
13.39% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 68
12.84% (31 December 2007)
$6.106 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 57
$6.227 billion (31 December 2007)
$9.7 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 58
$8.928 billion (31 December 2007)
$14.82 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 72
$13.96 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA
sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism
-1.4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
8.425 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
7.115 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
131.9 million kWh (2007 est.)
8.11 million kWh (2007 est.)
15,550 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80
76,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
21,850 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
72,440 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
83.07 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 174
2.96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
-$620 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
-$1.861 billion (2008 est.)
$6.768 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
$7.848 billion (2008 est.)
coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom
US 39.4%, El Salvador 12.6%, Honduras 9.5%, Mexico 6.6%, Nicaragua 4.2%, Costa Rica 4.1% (2008)
$10.91 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
$13.42 billion (2008 est.)
fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity
US 37.1%, Mexico 9.8%, China 5.8%, El Salvador 4.8% (2008)
$4.709 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
$4.471 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$7.489 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
$6.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 8.1613 (2009), 7.5895 (2008), 7.6833 (2007), 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005)
Communications ::Guatemala
1.449 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 65
14.949 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 42
general assessment: fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala
domestic: state-owned telecommunications company privatized in the late 1990s opening the way for competition; fixed-line teledensity 11 per 100 persons; fixed-line investments are being concentrated on improving rural connectivity; mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 100 per 100 persons
international: country code - 502; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the SAM-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000)
26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997)
.gt
132,049 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 69
1.96 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 70
Transportation ::Guatemala
371 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 21
total: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2009)
total: 358
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 270 (2009)
oil 480 km (2009)
total: 332 km
country comparison to the world: 120
narrow gauge: 332 km 0.914-m gauge (2008)
total: 14,095 km
country comparison to the world: 123
paved: 4,863 km (includes 75 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,232 km (2000)
990 km
country comparison to the world: 66
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2007)
Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Military ::Guatemala
National Army of Guatemala (Ejercito Nacional de Guatemala, ENG), Guatemalan Navy (Marina Nacional, includes Marines), Guatemalan Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca, FAG) (2009)
all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 are liable for military service; conscript service obligation varies from 12 to 24 months; women can serve as officers (2009)
males age 16-49: 3,062,027
females age 16-49: 3,266,655 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 2,494,903
females age 16-49: 2,827,208 (2010 est.)
male: 168,959
female: 166,414 (2010 est.)
0.4% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 166
Transnational Issues ::Guatemala
annual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States
IDPs: undetermined (the UN does not estimate there are any IDPs, although some NGOs estimate over 200,000 IDPs as a result of over three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996) (2007)
current situation: Guatemala is a source, transit, and destination country for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; human trafficking is a significant and growing problem in the country; Guatemalan women and children are trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Mexico and the United States; Guatemalan men, women, and children are also trafficked within the country, and to Mexico and the United States, for forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Guatemala is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, particularly with respect to ensuring that trafficking offenders are appropriately prosecuted for their crimes; while prosecutors initiated trafficking prosecutions, they continued to face problems in court with application of Guatemala's comprehensive anti-trafficking law; the government made modest improvements to its protection efforts, but assistance remained inadequate overall in 2007 (2008)
major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2005, cultivated 100 hectares of opium poppy after reemerging as a potential source of opium in 2004; potential production of less than 1 metric ton of pure heroin; marijuana cultivation for mostly domestic consumption; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (particularly for cocaine); money laundering is a serious problem; corruption is a major problem