Guide to Guatemala Introduction Background: The Maya 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 some 1 million refugees.
Geography Location: Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
Geographic coordinates: 15 30 N, 90 15 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 400 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 1,250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
Environment - current issues: deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: no natural harbors on west coast
People Population: 14,655,189 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.57% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 34.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 4.53 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 78,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 5,800 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: 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)
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs
Languages: Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: constitutional democratic republic
Capital: Guatemala
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members 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)
Political parties and leaders: Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democratic Union or UD [Rodolfo PAIZ Andrade]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Oscar BERGER Perdomo]; Green Party or LOV [Rodolfo ROSALES Garcis-Salaz]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Alba ESTELA Maldonado, secretary general]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU [Jacobo ARBENZ Villanueva]; Movement for Principals and Values or MPV [Francisco BIANCHI]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel LOPEZ Rodas, secretary general]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvarado COLOM Caballeros]; New Nation Alliance or ANN (formed by an alliance of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom subsequently defected) [led by three co-equal partners - Nineth Varenca MONTENEGRO Cottom, Rodolfo BAUER Paiz, and Jorge Antonio BALSELLS TUT]; Patriot Party or PP [retired General Otto PEREZ Molina]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE, secretary general]; Unionista Party [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: 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; Mutual Support Group or GAM
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: 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 Economy - overview: Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, but widespread political violence and corruption scandals continue to dampen investor confidence. The distribution of income remains highly unequal, with perhaps 75% of the population below the poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $59.47 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 3.68 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (2003 est.)
Population below poverty line: 75% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 55.8 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.2% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 14.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 32% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens
Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (1999)
Electricity - production: 6.608 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 5.76 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 440 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 55 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 25,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 61,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 3,104 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 263 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 1.543 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-1.381 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $2.911 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom
Exports - partners: US 53%, El Salvador 11.4%, Honduras 7.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2004)
Imports: $7.77 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity
Imports - partners: US 34%, Mexico 8.1%, South Korea 6.8%, China 6.6%, Japan 4.4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.084 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $5.969 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $250 million (2000 est.)
Currency (code): quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed
Currency code: GTQ; USD
Exchange rates: quetzales per US dollar - 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8216 (2002), 7.8586 (2001), 7.7632 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 846,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,577,100 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000)
Radios: 835,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 1.323 million (1997)
Internet country code: .gt
Internet hosts: 20,360 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000)
Internet users: 400,000 (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 990 km note
Pipelines: oil 480 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Airports: 452 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $201.9 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.8% (2003)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rain forests of Belize's border region; OAS is attempting to revive the 2002 failed Differendum that created a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, a joint ecological park for the disputed Sapodilla Cays, and a substantial US-UK financial package; Guatemalans enter Mexico illegally seeking work or transit to the US
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs
Illicit drugs: major transit country for cocaine and heroin; minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis 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; remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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