Map of Guatemala | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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 internal conflict.


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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
Land: 107,159 km²
Water: 1,730 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Total: 1,667 km
Border countries: (4) Belize 266 km; El Salvador 199 km; Honduras 244 km; Mexico 958 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: two east-west trending mountain chains divide the country into three regions: the mountainous highlands, the Pacific coast south of mountains, and the vast northern Peten lowlands

Elevation
Highest point: Volcan Tajumulco (highest point in Central America) 4,220 m
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 759 m

Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 41.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 14.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 8.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 18.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 33.6% (2018 est.)
Other: 25.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,375 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 840 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 600 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.89 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 127.91 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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

Geography
Note note 1: despite having both eastern and western coastlines (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean respectively), there are no natural harbors on the west coast
Note note 2: Guatemala is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire


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Population
Distribution: the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions; more than half of the population lives in rural areas: 17,980,803 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 1.54% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 59.3% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Guatemalan(s)
Adjective: Guatemalan

Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Maya 41.7%, Xinca (Indigenous, non-Maya) 1.8%, African descent 0.2%, Garifuna (mixed West and Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak) 0.1%, foreign 0.2% (2018 est.)

Languages: Spanish (official) 69.9%, Maya languages 29.7% (Q'eqchi' 8.3%, K'iche 7.8%, Mam 4.4%, Kaqchikel 3%, Q'anjob'al 1.2%, Poqomchi' 1%, other 4%), other 0.4% (includes Xinca and Garifuna); note - the 2003 Law of National Languages officially recognized 23 indigenous languages, including 21 Maya languages, Xinca, and Garifuna (2018 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 41.7%, Evangelical 38.8%, other 2.7%, atheist 0.1%, none 13.8%, unspecified 2.9% (2018 est.)

Demographic profile: Guatemala is a predominantly poor country that struggles in several areas of health and development, including infant, child, and maternal mortality, malnutrition, literacy, and contraceptive awareness and use. The country's large indigenous population is disproportionately affected. Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and has the highest fertility rate in Latin America. It also has the highest population growth rate in Latin America, which is likely to continue because of its large reproductive-age population and high birth rate. Almost half of Guatemala's population is under age 19, making it the youngest population in Latin America. Guatemala's total fertility rate has slowly declined during the last few decades due in part to limited government-funded health programs. However, the birth rate is still more close to three children per woman and is markedly higher among its rural and indigenous populations.

Age structure
0-14 years: 31.98% (male 2,927,423/female 2,822,441)
15-64 years: 62.78% (male 5,568,051/female 5,720,928)
65 years and over: 5.24% (2023 est.) (male 420,782/female 521,178)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 60.9
Youth dependency ratio: 53
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.9
Potential support ratio: 12.7 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 23.8 years
Female: 25 years

Population growth rate: 1.54% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 21.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions; more than half of the population lives in rural areas

Urbanization
Urban population: 53.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.095 million GUATEMALA CITY (capital) (2023)

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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 20.75 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 16.78 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 10.7 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 20.6 years (2014/15 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 96 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 25.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 28.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.2 years (2023 est.)
Male: 71.2 years
Female: 75.3 years

Total fertility rate: 2.57 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 60.6% (2014/15)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 97.9% of population
Improved rural: 92.2% of population
Improved total: 95% of population
Unimproved urban: 2.1% of population
Unimproved rural: 8% of population
Unimproved total: 5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 1.24 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 21.2% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 10.9% (2020 est.)
Male: 20.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 1.6% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 14.4% (2021/22)

Education expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 83.3%
Male: 87.7%
Female: 79.3% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 10 years (2019)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 7.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.3%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 9.4%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
Conventional short form: Guatemala
Local long form: República de Guatemala
Local short form: Guatemala
Etymology: the Spanish conquistadors used many native Americans as allies in their conquest of Guatemala; the site of their first capital (established in 1524), a former Maya settlement, was called "Quauhtemallan" by their Nahuatl-speaking Mexican allies, a name that means "land of trees" or "forested land", but which the Spanish pronounced "Guatemala"; the Spanish applied that name to a re-founded capital city three years later and eventually it became the name of the country

Government type: presidential 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)
Etymology: the Spanish conquistadors used many native Americans as allies in their conquest of Guatemala; the site of their first capital (established in 1524), a former Maya settlement, was called "Quauhtemallan" by their Nahuatl-speaking Mexican allies, a name that means "land of trees" or "forested land", but which the Spanish pronounced "Guatemala"; the Spanish applied that name to a re-founded capital city three years later and eventually it became the name of the country

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
History: several previous; latest adopted 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; suspended and reinstated in 1994
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic, by agreement of 10 or more deputies of Congress, by the Constitutional Court, or by public petition of at least 5,000 citizens; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Congress membership and approval by public referendum, referred to as "popular consultation"; constitutional articles such as national sovereignty, the republican form of government, limitations on those seeking the presidency, or presidential tenure cannot be amended; amended 1993

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years with no absences of six consecutive months or longer or absences totaling more than a year

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces and police by law cannot vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (since 14 January 2020); Vice President Cesar Guillermo CASTILLO Reyes (since 14 January 2020); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (since 14 January 2020); Vice President Cesar Guillermo CASTILLO Reyes (since 14 January 2020)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (not eligible for consecutive terms); election last held on 25 June 2023 with a runoff on 20 August 2023 (next to be held in June 2,027)
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (160 seats; 128 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies in the country's 22 departments and 32 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed party-list proportional representation vote, using the D'Hondt method; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 25 June 2023 (next to be held in June 2,027)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - VAMOS 39, UNE 28, SEMILLA 23, CABAL 18, Valor-Unionist 12, VIVA 11, TODOS 6, VOS 4, BIEN 4, CREO 3, PPN 3, Victoria 3, Blue 2, Elephant 2, Change 1, Winaq-URNG 1; composition - men 128, women 32, percent of women 20%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 13 magistrates, including the court president and organized into 3 chambers); note - the court president also supervises trial judges countrywide; note - the Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad of Guatemala resides outside the country's judicial system; its sole purpose is the interpretation of the constitution and to see that the laws and regulations are not superior to the constitution (consists of 5 titular magistrates and 5 substitute magistrates)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court magistrates elected by the Congress of the Republic from candidates proposed by the Postulation Committee, an independent body of deans of the country's university law schools, representatives of the country's law associations, and representatives of the Courts of Appeal; magistrates elected for concurrent, renewable 5-year terms; Constitutional Court judges - 1 elected by the Congress of the Republic, 1 by the Supreme Court, 1 by the president of the republic, 1 by the (public) University of San Carlos, and 1 by the Assembly of the College of Attorneys and Notaries; judges elected for renewable, consecutive 5-year terms; the presidency of the court rotates among the magistrates for a single 1-year term
Subordinate courts: Appellate Courts of Accounts, Contentious Administrative Tribunal, courts of appeal, first instance courts, child and adolescence courts, minor or peace courts

Political parties and leaders:

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