Guatemala
Republic of GuatemalaRepublica de Guatemala
constitutional democratic republicIndependence 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Guatemala as the 2006 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 125 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
18 fieldsLand useshare of 108,890 sq km
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
Natural hazards
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
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
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2006 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2006 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2001 census)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.87 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Languages
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Government
Constitutional democratic republic; President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica, 158 seats, elected 9 November 2003one dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Guatemala
- conventional short form:
- Guatemala
- local long form:
- Republica de Guatemala
- local short form:
- Guatemala
Capital
- name:
- Guatemala
- geographic coordinates:
- 14 38 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
Constitution
- 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986;
- note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President Jorge 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:
- 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)
- 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 November 2003;
- runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held September 2007)
- election results:
- Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA) 54.1%, Alvarado COLOM (UNE) 45.9%
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 November 2003 (next to be held September 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
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]; Grand National Alliance or GANA (an alliance of smaller parties) [Alfredo VILA Giron, secretary general]; 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 [Ret. Gen. Otto PEREZ Molina];
Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE, secretary general]; Unionista Party
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, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- 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, Providence, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador James M. DERHAM
- 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
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.
44 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2005 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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.
Agriculture - products
sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens
Imports - commodities
fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity
Exchange rates
quetzales per US dollar - 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002), 7.8586 (2001)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- 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)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Waterways
990 km note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2004)
Military
Army, Navy (includes marines), Air Force
6 fieldsMilitary 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 (2005)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 18-49:
- 2,429,033
- females age 18-49:
- 2,503,482 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
- males age 18-49:
- 134,032
- females age 18-49:
- 130,641 (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsDisputes - international
- Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rain forests of Belize's border region;
- Organization of American States (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) 30,000 (Hurricane "Stan" October 2005) (2005)
Illicit drugs
- major transit country for cocaine and heroin;
- in 2004, reemerged as a potential source of opium, growing 330 hectares of opium poppy, with potential pure heroin production of 1.4 metric tons;
- 76% of opium poppy cultivation in western highlands along Mexican border;
- 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Guatemala.” The World Factbook 2006. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/guatemala/2006.