| Published on March 9, 2010 |
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Country Report
Guatemala
 Introduction
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.
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
Area:
total: 108,889 sq km
land: 107,159 sq km
water: 1,730 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,687 km
border countries: 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
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: 1,300 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 111.3 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.01 cu km/yr (6%/13%/80%)
per capita: 160 cu m/yr (2000)
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: 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
Geography - note: no natural harbors on west coast
People
Population: 13,276,517 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.4% (male 2,664,058/female 2,573,006)
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.)
Median age:
total: 19.4 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 20 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.066% (2009 est.)
Birth rate: 27.98 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate: 5.11 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 49% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/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.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 27.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.29 years
male: 68.49 years
female: 72.19 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.47 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 59,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,900 (2007 est.)
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)
Nationality:
noun: Guatemalan(s)
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)
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: 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)
Education expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2006)
Government
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
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
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 (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
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 [Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza]; 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]
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, 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, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
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
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 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 and half of the labor force; key agricultural exports include coffee, sugar, and bananas. 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 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 participation. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with more than half of the population below the national poverty line and 15% in extreme poverty. Guatemala has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, curtailing drug trafficking and rampant crime, and narrowing the trade deficit. President COLOM entered into office with the promise to increase education, healthcare, and rural development, and in April 2008 he inaugurated a conditional financial transfer program modeled after programs in Brazil and Mexico that provide financial incentives for poor families to keep their children in school. 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 turned negative in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets contracted and foreign investment slowed amid the global recession and economic recovery will probably be negligible in 2010.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$69.22 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate): $36.47 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.5% (2009 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,200 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 25.1%
services: 61.4% (2009 est.)
Labor force: 4.157 million (2009 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 56.2% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 42.4% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 55.1 (2007)
Investment (gross fixed): 16.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $4.07 billion
expenditures: $5.563 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt: 32.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate: NA% NA% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate: 13.39% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money: $6.106 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money: $9.7 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit: $14.82 billion (31 December 2008)
Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA
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% (2009 est.)
Electricity - production: 8.425 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption: 7.115 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports: 131.9 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports: 8.11 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production: 15,550 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption: 76,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports: 21,850 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports: 72,440 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves: 83.07 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 2.96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: -$1.105 billion (2009 est.)
Exports: $6.768 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom
Exports - partners: US 39.4%, El Salvador 12.6%, Honduras 9.5%, Mexico 6.6%, Nicaragua 4.2%, Costa Rica 4.1% (2008)
Imports: $10.91 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities: fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity
Imports - partners: US 37.1%, Mexico 9.8%, China 5.8%, El Salvador 4.8% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $4.709 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external: $7.489 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates: quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 8.1613 (2009), 7.5895 (2008), 7.6833 (2007), 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005)
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.449 million (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 14.949 million (2008)
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)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000)
Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code: .gt
Internet hosts: 132,049 (2009)
Internet users: 1.96 million (2008)
Transportation
Airports: 371 (2009)
Airports - with paved runways:
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)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
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)
Pipelines: oil 480 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 332 km
narrow gauge: 332 km 0.914-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 14,095 km
paved: 4,863 km (includes 75 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,232 km (2000)
Waterways:
990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2007)
Ports and terminals: Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Military
Military branches: National Army of Guatemala (Ejercito Nacional de Guatemala, ENG), Guatemalan Navy (Marina Nacional, includes Marines), Guatemalan Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca, FAG) (2009)
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 (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,861,696
females age 16-49: 3,062,967 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,401,297
females age 16-49: 2,725,572 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 165,910
female: 163,760 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures: 0.4% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues
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 (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)
Trafficking in persons:
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)
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 serious problem; corruption is a major problem
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