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Background:
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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. |
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Location:
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Central
America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El
Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras
(Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize |
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Geographic coordinates:
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15 30 N,
90 15 W |
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Map references:
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Central
America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total:
108,890 sq km
land: 108,430 sq km
water: 460 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
smaller than Tennessee |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203
km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
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Coastline:
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400 km
|
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation |
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Climate:
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tropical;
hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands |
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Terrain:
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mostly
mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling
limestone plateau (Peten) |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
|
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Land use:
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arable
land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 5.03%
other: 82.43% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,250 sq
km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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numerous
volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent
earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to
hurricanes and other tropical storms |
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion;
water pollution |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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no
natural harbors on west coast |
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Population:
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14,655,189 (July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 42.4% (male 3,185,037/female 3,033,947)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 4,019,052/female
3,928,984)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 226,745/female
261,424) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
18.47 years
male: 18.25 years
female: 18.71 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.57%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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34.11
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.81
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
|
-1.63
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
35.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.74 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 35.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 69.06 years
male: 67.37 years
female: 70.84 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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4.53
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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1.1%
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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78,000
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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5,800
(2003 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan |
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Ethnic groups:
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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) |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs |
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Languages:
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Spanish
60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized
Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel,
Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.6%
male: 78%
female: 63.3% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala
local long form: Republica de Guatemala
local short form: Guatemala |
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Government type:
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constitutional democratic republic |
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Capital:
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Guatemala
|
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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15
September 1821 (from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
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Constitution:
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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
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Legal system:
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civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal (active duty members of the armed
forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks
on election day) |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
(since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN
Barillas (since 14 January 2004); note - the president
is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Oscar Jose Rafael
BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President
Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president
elections: president elected by popular vote for
a four-year term; election last held 9 November 2003;
runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held November
2007)
election results: Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected
president; percent of vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA)
54.1%, Alvarado COLOM (UNE) 45.9% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 November 2003 (next to be
held November 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other
18
note: for the 9 November 2003 election, the
number of congressional seats increased from 113 to 158
|
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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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] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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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 |
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International organization participation:
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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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Guillermo CASTILLO
chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952
FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Denver, Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador John R. HAMILTON
embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala
City
mailing address: APO AA 34024
telephone: [502] 2331-1541/55
FAX: [502] 2334-8477 |
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Flag description:
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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 |
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$59.47
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.6%
(2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 19.5%
services: 57.9% (2004 est.) |
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Labor force:
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3.68
million (2004 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.)
|
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Unemployment rate:
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7.5%
(2003 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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75% (2004
est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 46% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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55.8
(1998) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
7.2%
(2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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14.9% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $2.878 billion
expenditures: $3.411 billion, including capital
expenditures of $750 million (2004 est.) |
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Public debt:
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32% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom;
cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
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Industries:
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sugar,
textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum,
metals, rubber, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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4.1%
(1999) |
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Electricity - production:
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6.608
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 51.9%
hydro: 35.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 12.9% (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption:
|
5.76
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
|
440
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
|
55
million kWh (2002) |
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Oil - production:
|
25,000
bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
|
61,000
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
|
3,104
bbl/day (2003) |
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Oil - imports:
|
NA |
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Oil - proved reserves:
|
263
million bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
1.543
billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Current account balance:
|
$-1.381
billion (2004 est.) |
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Exports:
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$2.911
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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coffee,
sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and
vegetables, cardamom |
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Exports - partners:
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US 53%,
El Salvador 11.4%, Honduras 7.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2004)
|
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Imports:
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$7.77
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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fuels,
machinery and transport equipment, construction
materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
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Imports - partners:
|
US 34%,
Mexico 8.1%, South Korea 6.8%, China 6.6%, Japan 4.4%
(2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$3.084
billion (2004 est.) |
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Debt - external:
|
$5.969
billion (2004 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
|
$250
million (2000 est.) |
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Currency (code):
|
quetzal
(GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed |
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Currency code:
|
GTQ; USD
|
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Exchange rates:
|
quetzales
per US dollar - 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8216
(2002), 7.8586 (2001), 7.7632 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
|
calendar
year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
|
846,000
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
1,577,100
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: fairly modern network centered
in the city of Guatemala
domestic: NA
international: country code - 502; connected to
Central American Microwave System; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 130,
FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) |
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Radios:
|
835,000
(1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
|
26 (plus
27 repeaters) (1997) |
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Televisions:
|
1.323
million (1997) |
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Internet country code:
|
.gt |
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Internet hosts:
|
20,360
(2003) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
5 (2000)
|
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Internet users:
|
400,000
(2002) |
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Railways:
|
total:
886 km
narrow gauge: 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
|
Highways:
|
total:
14,118 km
paved: 4,871 km (including 74 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,247 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
|
990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730
km navigable during high-water season (2004) |
|
Pipelines:
|
oil 480
km (2004) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Puerto
Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla |
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Airports:
|
452 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
441
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 109
under 914 m: 323 (2004 est.) |
|
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: 3,020,292 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 18-49: 2,106,847 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males:
161,964 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$201.9
million (2004) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
0.8%
(2003) |
|
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:
250,000 (government's scorched-earth offensive in 1980s
against indigenous people) (2004) |
|
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 |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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