Guatemala

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 internal conflict.

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

highest point:

Volcan Tajumulco (highest point in Central America) 4,220 m

lowest point:

Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation:

759 m

• 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

noun:

Guatemalan(s)

adjective:

Guatemalan

• Spanish (official) 69.9%, Maya languages 29.7% (Q'eqchi' 8.3%, K'iche 7.8%, Mam 4.4%, Kaqchikel 3%, Q'anjob'al 1.2%, Poqomchi' 1%, other 4%), other 0.4% (includes Xinca and Garifuna);
• note - the 2003 Law of National Languages officially recognized 23 indigenous languages, including 21 Maya languages, Xinca, and Garifuna (2018 est.)

major-language sample(s):

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

• 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

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

particulate matter emissions:

23.59 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

16.78 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

10.7 megatons (2020 est.)

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

urban population:

52.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

2.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

municipal:

835 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

603.1 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

1.886 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Guatemala

conventional short form:

Guatemala

local long form:

Republica de Guatemala

local short form:

Guatemala

etymology:

• the Spanish conquistadors used many native Americans as allies in their conquest of Guatemala;
• the site of their first capital (established in 1524), a former Maya settlement, was called "Quauhtemallan" by their Nahuatl-speaking Mexican allies, a name that means "land of trees" or "forested land", but which the Spanish pronounced "Guatemala";
• the Spanish applied that name to a re founded capital city three years later and eventually it became the name of the country

name:

Guatemala City

geographic coordinates:

14 37 N, 90 31 W

time difference:

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

etymology:

• the Spanish conquistadors used many native Americans as allies in their conquest of Guatemala;
• the site of their first capital (established in 1524), a former Maya settlement, was called "Quauhtemallan" by their Nahuatl-speaking Mexican allies, a name that means "land of trees" or "forested land", but which the Spanish pronounced "Guatemala";
• the Spanish applied that name to a re founded capital city three years later and eventually it became the name of the country

• 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

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 1993

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

chief of state:

• President Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (since 14 January 2020);
• Vice President Cesar Guillermo CASTILLO Reyes (since 14 January 2020);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (since 14 January 2020); Vice President Cesar Guillermo CASTILLO Reyes (since 14 January 2020)

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 16 June 2019 with a runoff on 11 August 2019 (next to be held in June 2023)

election results:

• 2019: Alejandro GIAMMATTEI elected president;
• percent of vote in first round - Sandra TORRES (UNE) 25.54%, Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (VAMOS) 13.95%, Edmond MULET (PHG) 11.21%, Thelma CABRERA (MLP) 10.37%, Roberto ARZU (PAN-PODEMOS) 6.08%;
• percent of vote in second round - Alejandro GIAMMATTEI (VAMOS) 58%, Sandra TORRES (UNE) 42%

;

• 2015: 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 (160 seats; 128 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies in the country's 22 departments and 32 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed party-list proportional representation vote, using the D'Hondt method; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 16 June 2019 (next to be held on June 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - UNE 53, VAMOS 16, UCN 12, VALOR 9, BIEN 8, FCN-NACION 8, SEMILLA 7, TODOS 7, VIVA 7, CREO 6, PHG 6, VICTORIA 4, Winaq 4, PC 3, PU 3, URNG 3, PAN 2, MLP 1, PODEMOS 1;
• composition - men 129, women 31, percent of women 19.4%

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 renewable, consecutive 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

• Bienestar Nacional or BIEN [Alfonso PORTILLO and Evelyn MORATAYA]
• Citizen Alliance or AC
• Citizen Prosperity or PC [Dami Anita Elizabeth KRISTENSON Sales]
• Commitment, Renewal, and Order or CREO [Roberto GONZALEZ Diaz-Duran]
• Convergence [Sandra MORAN]
• Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENEGRO Cottom]
• Everyone Together for Guatemala or TODOS [Felipe ALEJOS]
• Force or FUERZA [Mauricio RADFORD]
• Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG-MAIZ or URNG [Gregorio CHAY Laynez]
• Humanist Party of Guatemala or PHG [Edmond MULET]
• Movement for the Liberation of Peoples or MLP [Thelma CABRERA]
• Movimiento Semilla or SEMILLA [Thelma ALDANA]
• National Advancement Party or PAN [Harald JOHANNESSEN]
• National Convergence Front or FCN-NACION or FCN [Jimmy MORALES]
• National Unity for Hope or UNE [Sandra TORRES]
• Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Mario ESTRADA]
• Patriotic Party or PP
• PODEMOS [Jose Raul VIRGIL Arias]
• Political Movement Winaq or Winaq [Sonia GUTIERREZ Raguay]
• Reform Movement or MR
• Renewed Democratic Liberty or LIDER (dissolved mid-February 2016)
• TODOS [Felipe ALEJOS]
• Unionista Party or PU [Alvaro ARZU Escobar]
• Value or VALOR [Zury RIOS]
• Vamos por una Guatemala Diferente or VAMOS [Alejandro GIAMMATTEI]
• Victory or VICTORIA [Amilcar RIVERA]
• Vision with Values or VIVA [Armando Damian CASTILLO Alvarado]

note: parties represented in the last election, but have since dissolved - FCN (2017), LIDER (2016), and PP (2017)

chief of mission:

Ambassador William W. POPP (since 13 August 2020)

embassy:

Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zone 10, Guatemala City

mailing address:

3190 Guatemala Place, Washington DC 20521-3190

telephone:

[502] 2326-4000

FAX:

[502] 2326-4654

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://gt.usembassy.gov/

• 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

Fitch rating:

BB- (2020)

Moody's rating:

Ba1 (2010)

Standard & Poors rating: BB- (2017)

agriculture:

31.4%

industry:

12.8%

services:

55.8% (2017 est.)

total:

4.6%

male:

4%

female:

5.7% (2019 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.6%

highest 10%:

38.4% (2014)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

145,795 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

110,000 mt-km (2018)

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

by type:

oil tanker 1, other 8 (2021)

Army of Guatemala (Ejercito de Guatemala):

• Land Forces (Fuerzas de Tierra), Naval Forces (Fuerza de Mar), and Air Force (Fuerza de Aire);
• Ministry of Interior: National Civil Police (Policia Nacional Civil; includes paramilitary units) (2021)

• the Guatemalan military inventory is small and mostly comprised of older US equipment;
• since 2010, Guatemala has received small amounts of equipment from Canada, Colombia, Spain, Taiwan, and the US (2021)