Guatemala

• tropical;
• hot, humid in lowlands;
• cooler in highlands

total:

2.01 cu km/yr (6%/13%/80%)

per capita:

160 cu m/yr (2000)

• deforestation in the Peten rainforest;
• soil erosion;
• water pollution

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

noun:

Guatemalan(s)

adjective:

Guatemalan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

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)

conventional long form:

Republic of Guatemala

conventional short form:

Guatemala

local long form:

Republica de Guatemala

local short form:

Guatemala

name:

Guatemala City

geographic coordinates:

14 37 N, 90 31 W

time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 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

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

• has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration;
• the Congress ratified Statute of Rome on 18 January 2012, and ICCt jurisdiction entered into force on 23 February 2012

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

chief of state:

• President Otto Fernando PEREZ MOLINA (since 14 January 2012);
• Vice President Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias (since 14 January 2012);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Otto Fernando PEREZ MOLINA (since 14 January 2012); Vice President Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias (since 14 January 2012)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms);
• election last held on 11 September 2011;
• runoff held on 6 November 2011 (next to be held in September 2015)

election results:

Otto PEREZ MOLINA elected president in a runoff election; percent of vote - Otto PEREZ MOLINA 53.7%, Manuel BALDIZON 46.3%

• Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges and five alternate judges are elected by Congress for concurrent five-year terms);
• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members are elected by Congress to 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)

• Commitment, Renewal, and Order or CREO [Rodolfo NEUTZE];
• Democratic Union or UD [Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera];
• Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENEGRO];
• Grand National Alliance or GANA [Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza];
• Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector Alfredo NUILA Ericastilla];
• Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Luis Fernando PEREZ];
• National Advancement Party or PAN [Juan GUTIERREZ];
• National Unity for Hope or UNE;
• National Welfare or Bien [Fidel REYES Lee];
• Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Mario ESTRADA];
• New National Alternative or ANN [Pablo MONSANTO];
• Patriot Party or PP [Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias];
• Renewed Democratic Liberty or LIDER [Manuel BALDIZON];
• Unionista Party or PU [Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen];
• Victoria (Victory) [Abraham RIVERA];
• Winaq [Rigoberta MENCHU]

• Alliance Against Impunity or AI (which includes among others Center for Legal Action on Human Rights (CALDH), and Family and Friends of the Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA));
• Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO;
• Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC;
• Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF (which includes among others the Agrarian Chamber (CAMAGRO) and the Industry Chamber of Guatemala (CIG));
• Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce (Camara de Comercio);
• International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala or CICIG;
• Mutual Support Group or GAM;
• Movimiento PRO-Justicia

chief of mission:

Ambassador Francisco VILLAGRAN de Leon

chancery:

2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 745-4953

FAX:

[1] (202) 745-1908

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Providence, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Arnold A. CHACON

embassy:

7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City

mailing address:

DPO AA 34024

telephone:

[502] 2326-4000

FAX:

[502] 2326-4654

• 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) representing liberty 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 signifying Guatemala's willingness to defend itself and a pair of crossed swords representing honor and framed by a laurel wreath symbolizing victory;
• the blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and the sea and sky;
• the white band denotes peace and purity

name:

"Himno Nacional de Guatemala" (National Anthem of Guatemala)

lyrics/music:

Jose Joaquin PALMA/Rafael Alvarez OVALLE

note: adopted 1897, modified lyrics adopted 1934; Cuban poet Jose Joaquin PALMA anonymously submitted lyrics to a public contest calling for a national anthem; his authorship was not discovered until 1911

agriculture:

38%

industry:

14%

services:

48% (2011 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

42.4% (2006)

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 roughly 10 per 100 persons;
• fixed-line investments are being concentrated on improving rural connectivity;
• mobile-cellular teledensity approaching 150 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)

• 4 privately-owned national terrestrial TV channels dominate TV broadcasting;
• multi-channel satellite and cable services are available;
• 1 government-owned radio station and hundreds of privately-owned radio stations (2007)

total:

332 km

country comparison to the world: 118

narrow gauge:

332 km 0.914-m gauge (2008)

total:

14,095 km

country comparison to the world: 124

paved:

4,863 km (includes 75 km of expressways)

unpaved:

9,232 km (2000)

• 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)

males age 16-49:

3,165,870

females age 16-49:

3,371,217 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,590,843

females age 16-49:

2,926,544 (2010 est.)

male:

171,092

female:

168,151 (2010 est.)

• annual ministerial meetings under the Organization of American States-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;
• Guatemala persists in its territorial claim to half of Belize, but agrees to Line of Adjacency to keep Guatemalan squatters out of Belize's forested interior;
• both countries agreed in April 2012 to hold simultaneous referenda, scheduled for 6 October 2013, to decide whether to refer the dispute to the ICJ for binding resolution;
• 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

• 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