Guatemala

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

total:

3.46 cu km/yr (15%/31%/54%)

per capita:

259.1 cu m/yr (2006)

• 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever and malaria (2013)

total number:

929,852

percentage:

21 %

note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2006 est.)

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

• several previous;
• latest adopted 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986;
• suspended, reinstated, and amended in 1993 (2013)

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

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 13 magistrates including the court president and organized into several chambers);
• note - the court president also supervises trial judges countrywide;
• Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitcionalidad (consists of 5 judges and 5 alternates)

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 Court of Appeal and other tribunals;
• magistrates elected for renewable 5-year terms;
• Constitutional Court judges - 1 elected by the Congress of the Republic, 1 by the Supreme Court president, 1 by the president of the republic, 1 by the University of San Carlos, and one by the BAR association;
• judges elected for concurrent 5-year terms;
• the presidency of the court rotates among the magistrates for a single 1-year term

subordinate courts:

numerous first instance and appellate courts

• Commitment, Renewal, and Order or CREO [Rodolfo NEUTZE]
• Democratic Union or UD [Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera]
• Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENEGRO]
• Everyone Together for Guatemala or TODOS [Jorge Mario BARRIOS Falla]
• 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 [Sandra TORRES]
• 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]
• Vision with Values or VIVA [Manuel Alfredo VILLACORTA Miron] (part of a coalition with EG during the last legislative election)
• Winaq [Rigoberta MENCHU]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jose Julio Alejandro LIGORRIA Carballido (since 5 September 2013)

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, McAllen (TX), Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Arnold A. CHACON (since 29 August 2011)

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

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) (2011)

• 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:

11,501 km

country comparison to the world: 130

paved:

6,797 km (includes 127 km of expressways)

unpaved:

4,704 km (2010)

• all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 are liable for military service;
• in practice, a selective draft system is employed, with only a small portion of 17-21 year-olds conscripted;
• conscript service obligation varies from 1 to 2 years;
• women can serve as officers (2013)

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