Guatemala

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

mean elevation:

759 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean; 4220 highest point: Volcan Tajumulco (highest point in Central America)

• the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions;
• more than half of the population lives in rural areas

• numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes;
• Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms volcanism: significant volcanic activity in the Sierra Madre range;
• Santa Maria (3,772 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations;
• Pacaya (2,552 m), which erupted in May 2010 causing an ashfall on Guatemala City and prompting evacuations, is one of the country's most active volcanoes with frequent eruptions since 1965;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Acatenango,
  • Almolonga,
  • Atitlan,
  • Fuego,
  • and Tacana
  ;
• see note 2 under "Geography - note"

• 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

0-14 years:

34.55% (male 2,919,281 /female 2,810,329)

15-24 years:

20.23% (male 1,688,900 /female 1,665,631)

25-54 years:

35.47% (male 2,878,075 /female 3,002,920)

55-64 years:

5.28% (male 407,592 /female 468,335)

65 years and over:

4.46% (male 336,377 /female 403,833) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

68.7 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

61.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

7.6 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

13.1 (2015 est.)

• the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions;
• more than half of the population lives in rural areas

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.91 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.91 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Guatemala

conventional short form:

Guatemala

local long form:

Republica de Guatemala

local short form:

Guatemala

etymology:

name derives from the Maya word meaning "Land of Trees"

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

history:

• several previous;
• latest adopted 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986;
• suspended and reinstated in 1994 (2018)

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic, by agreement of 10 or more deputies of Congress, by the Constitutional Court, or by public petition of at least 5,000 citizens;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Congress membership and approval by public referendum, referred to as "popular consultation";
• constitutional articles such as national sovereignty, the republican form of government, limitations on those seeking the presidency, or presidential tenure cannot be amended;
• amended 1994 (2018)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years with no absences of six consecutive months or longer or absences totaling more than a year

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

highest courts:

• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 13 magistrates including the court president and organized into 3 chambers);
• note - the court president also supervises trial judges countrywide;
• Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad (consists of 5 titular magistrates and 5 substitute magistrates

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 Courts of Appeal;
• magistrates elected for concurrent, renewable 5-year terms;
• Constitutional Court judges - 1 elected by the Congress of the Republic, 1 by the Supreme Court, 1 by the president of the republic, 1 by the (public) University of San Carlos, and 1 by the Assembly of the College of Attorneys and Notaries;
• judges elected for concurrent, renewable 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

chief of state:

• President Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (since 14 January 2016);
• Vice President Jafeth CABRERA Franco (since 14 January 2016);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (since 14 January 2016); Vice President Jafeth CABRERA Franco (since 14 January 2016)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (not eligible for consecutive terms);
• election last held on 6 September 2015 with a runoff on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in September 2019)

election results:

• Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera (FNC) 23.9%, Sandra TORRES (UNE) 19.8%, Manuel BALDIZON (LIDER) 19.6%, other 36.7%;
• percent of vote in second round - Jimmy Ernesto MORALES Cabrera 67.4%, Sandra TORRES 32.6%

description:

unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; 127 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies in the country's 22 departments by simple majority vote and 31 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 6 September 2015 (next to be held in September 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - LIDER 19.1%, UNE 14.8%, TODOS 9.7%, PP 9.4%, FCN 8.8%, EG 6.2%, CREO-PU 5.7%, UCN 5.4%, Winaq-URNG-MAIZ 4.3%, Convergence 3.8%, VIVA 3.7%, PAN 3.4%, FUERZA 2.1%, other 3.5%;
• seats by party - LIDER 44, UNE 36, TODOS 18, PP 17, FCN 11, EG 7, UCN 6, CREO-PU 5, Convergence 3, PAN 3, VIVA 3, Winaq-URNG-MAIZ 3, FUERZA 2;
• note - seats by party as of 6 January 2016 - FCN 37, UNE 32, MR 20, TODOS 17, AC 12, EG 7, UCN 6, CREO 5, LIDER 5, VIVA 4, Convergence 3, PAN 3, PP 2, FUERZA 1, PU 1, URNG 1, Winaq 1, independent 1

note: seats by party as of 6 January 2016 - FCN 37, UNE 32, MR 20, TODOS 17, AC 12, EG 7, UCN 6, CREO 5, LIDER 5, VIVA 4, Convergence 3, PAN 3, PP 2, FUERZA 1, PU 1, URNG 1, Winaq 1, independent 1

• Commitment, Renewal, and Order or CREO [Richard LEE Abularach]
• Convergence [Pablo MONSANTO]
• Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENEGRO Cottom]
• Everyone Together for Guatemala or TODOS [Felipe ALEJOS]
• Force or FUERZA [Jose RADFORD]
• Grand National Alliance or GANA [Fulbio Ludvin PEREZ]
• Guatemalan Liberal Party or PLG [Andres AYAU Garcias]
• Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or Winaq-URNG [Gregorio CHAY Laynez]
• Let’s Go for a Different Guatemala or VAMOS [Giorgio Eugenio BRUNI]
• National Advancement Party or PAN [Harald JOHANNESSEN]
• National Convergence Front or FCN [Javier HERNANDEZ Franco]
• National Unity for Hope or UNE [Sandra TORRES]
• National Welfare or BIEN [Ruben GARCIA Lopez]
• Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Mario ESTRADA]
• Political Movement Winaq or WINAQ [Sonia GUTIERREZ Raguay]
• Productivity and Labor Party or PPT [Edgar Alfredo RODRIGUEZ]
• Reform Movement or MR [Jose Raul VIGIL Arias]
• Renewed Democratic Liberty or LIDER (dissolved mid-February 2016)
• Unionista Party or PU [Alvaro Hugo RODAS Martini]
• UNITED or UNIDOS [Conrado Antonio MONROY Hernandez]
• Value or VALOR [Ana BERNAT]
• Victoria (Victory) [Manuel de Jesus RIVERA]
• Vision with Values or VIVA [Armando Damian CASTILLO Alvarado]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Luis E. ARREAGA (since 4 October 2017)

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 represent the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea;
• the white band denotes peace and purity

note: one of only two national flags featuring a firearm, the other is Mozambique

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:

31.4%

industry:

12.8%

services:

55.8% (2017 est.)

lowest 10%:

38.4% (2014)

highest 10%:

38.4% (2014)

general assessment:

• fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala;
• one of the lowest teledensities in the region especially in the country;
• state-owned telecommunications company privatized in the late 1990s opened the way for competition;
• steady improvement of fixed-line which has also spurred growth in mobile-cellular and broadband;
• open regulatory framework coupled with competion and greater disposable household revenue spurs growth (2017)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity roughly 15 per 100 persons;
• fixed-line investments are being concentrated on improving rural connectivity;
• mobile-cellular teledensity about 129 per 100 persons (2017)

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) (2017)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 8 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

93,129 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

455,520 mt-km (2015)

total:

800 km (2018)

narrow gauge:

800 km 0.914-m gauge (2018)

note: despite the existence of a railway network, all rail service was suspended in 2007 and no passenger or freight train currently runs in the country (2018)

total:

17,621 km (2016)

paved:

7,489 km (2016)

unpaved:

10,132 km (includes 4,960 km of rural roads) (2016)

total:

9 (2017)

by type:

oil tanker 1, other 8 (2017)

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

• major transit country for cocaine and heroin;
• it is estimated that 1,000 mt of cocaine are smuggled through the country each year, primarily destined for the US market;
• in 2016, the Guatamalan government estimated that an average of 4,500 hectares of opium poppy were being cultivated;
• 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