Map of Guatemala | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: 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.


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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 reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 108,889 km²
Rank: 106
Land: 107,159 km²
Water: 1730 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries
Total: 1687 km
Border countries: (4) Belize 266 km; El Salvador 203 km; Honduras 256 km; Mexico 962 km

Coastline: 400 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: tropical; hot humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m

Natural resources: petroleum nickel rare woods fish chicle hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 13.22%
Permanent crops: 5.6%
Other: 81.18% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1300 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 111.3 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms

Geography
Note: no natural harbors on west coast


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Population: 13,276,517 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 68
Growth rate: 2.066% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 55
Below poverty line: 56.2% (2004 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Guatemalan
Adjective: Guatemalan

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)

Languages: Spanish 60% Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages including Quiche Cakchiquel Kekchi Mam Garifuna and Xinca)

Religions: Roman Catholic Protestant indigenous Mayan beliefs

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 39.4%
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 3,655,184/female 3,884,331)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 231,652/female 268,286) (2009 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 19.4 years
Male: 18.9 years
Female: 20 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.066% (2009 est.)
Rank: 55

Birth rate: 27.98 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 55

Death rate: 5.11 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 185

Net migration rate: -2.21 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 140

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 49% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution
International agreements 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 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 (2009 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 27.84 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 79
Male: 30.2 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 25.35 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.29 years
Rank: 142
Male: 68.49 years
Female: 72.19 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.47 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 58

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 61
People living with hivaids: 59,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 61
Deaths: 3,900 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 51

Major infectious diseases
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)

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 154

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 69.1%
Male: 75.4%
Female: 63.3% (2002 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 10 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 10 years (2006)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
Conventional short form: Guatemala
Local long form: Republica de Guatemala
Local short form: Guatemala

Government type: constitutional democratic republic

Capital
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 2007-2009

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 31 May 1985 effective 14 January 1986; suspended 25 May 1993; reinstated 5 June 1993; amended November 1993

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 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

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Alvaro COLOM Caballeros ; 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
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 9 September 2007; runoff held 4 November 2007 (next to be held September 2011)
Election results: Alvaro COLOM Caballeros elected president; percent of vote - Alvaro COLOM Caballeros 52.8% Otto PEREZ Molina 47.2%

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: last held 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

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms); 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: Center of Social Action or CASA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democracy Front or FRENTE [Alfonso CABRERA]; Democratic Union or UD [Manuel CONDE Orellana]; Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENGRO]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Alfredo VILLA]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector NUILA]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Juan Guillermo GUTIERREZ]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Juan Jose ALFARO Lemus]; Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Mario ESTRADA]; Patriot Party or PP [Ret. Gen. Otto PEREZ Molina]; Unionista Party or PU [Fritz GARCIA-GALLONT]

International organization participation: 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 RG SICA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL Union Latina UNMIS UNOCI UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco VILLAGRAN de Leon
In the us chancery: 2,220 R Street NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 745-4,952
In the us fax: [1] (202) 745-1908
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Chicago Denver Houston Los Angeles Miami New York Phoenix Providence San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen G. MCFARLAND
From the us embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma Zone 10 Guatemala City
From the us mailing address: APO AA 34,024
From the us telephone: [502] 2,326-4,000
From the us fax: [502] 2,326-4,654

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Guatemala is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Argentina Brazil and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-tenth of GDP two-fifths of exports and half of the labor force. Coffee sugar and bananas are the main products with sugar exports benefiting from increased global demand for ethanol. The 1996 signing of peace accords which ended 36 years of civil war removed a major obstacle to foreign investment and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered into force in July 2006 and has since spurred increased investment in the export sector but concerns over security the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continued to hamper foreign participation. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with more than half of the population below the national poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues negotiating further assistance from international donors curtailing drug trafficking and rampant crime and narrowing the trade deficit. 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. Economic growth will slow in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets drop and foreign investment slows amid the global slowdown.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 81
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 103

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 136
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 13.1%
Industry: 25%
Services: 61.9% (2008 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: 1.4% (2008 est.)
Rank: 118

Labor force: 4.056 million (2008 est.)
Rank: 87
By occupation agriculture: 50%
By occupation industry: 15%
By occupation services: 35% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2005 est.)
Rank: 36

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 56.2% (2004 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.3%
Highest 10: 42.4% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index: 55.8 (1998)
Rank: 13

Budget
Revenues: $4.693 billion
Expenditures: $5.338 billion (2008 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 32% of GDP (2004 est.)
Rank: 80

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.8% (2007 est.)
Rank: 163

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 12.84% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 63

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $13.96 billion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 67

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: -$1.754 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 137

Exports: $7.012 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 95
Commodities: coffee sugar petroleum apparel bananas fruits and vegetables cardamom
Partners: US 39.4% El Salvador 12.6% Honduras 9.5% Mexico 6.6% Nicaragua 4.2% Costa Rica 4.1% (2008)

Imports: $12.48 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 87
Commodities: fuels machinery and transport equipment construction materials grain fertilizers electricity
Partners: US 36.7% Mexico 9.7% China 5.8% El Salvador 4.8% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $4.139 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 83

Debt external: $5.908 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 98

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 7.5895 (2008 est.) 7.6833 (2007) 7.6026 (2006) 7.6339 (2005) 7.9465 (2004)


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Electricity
Production: 8.425 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 97
Consumption: 7.115 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 96
Exports: 131.9 million kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 8.11 million kWh (2007 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 102
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 177
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 72
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 173
Proven reserves: 2.96 billion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 93

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1.449 million (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 65
Mobile cellular: 14.949 million (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 42

Telephone system
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)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .gt
Hosts: 132,049 (2009)
Hosts rank: 69
Users: 1.96 million (2008)
Users rank: 70

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.4% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 165

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 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 (2008)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 371 (2009)
Rank: 21
With paved runways total: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 358
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 84
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 270 (2009)

Heliports

Pipelines: oil 480 km (2008)

Railways
Total: 332 km
Rank: 120
Narrow gauge: 332 km 0.914-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Total: 14,095 km
Rank: 124
Paved: 4,863 km (includes 75 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 9,232 km (2000)

Waterways: 990 km
Rank: 66
Note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2007)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals: Puerto Quetzal Santo Tomas de Castilla


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Disputes international: 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: undetermined (2007)

Illicit drugs: 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 s