Guatemala

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

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Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

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Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

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Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

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Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

The capital of Guatemala, Guatemala City is a home to 1.5 million people. The capital that is closest located to Guatemala City is San Salvador of El Salvador which is located nearly 200 kilometers or 120 miles away. The capital that is furthest removed from Guatemala City is Jakarta Indonesia with a distance of 17,925 kilometers or 11,138 miles.

Average rainfall (mm)

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Proximity

Central American Integration System
International Solar Alliance
Group of 24
Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Asian Development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
International Development Law Organization
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank

Its GDP per capita is the 110th highest in the world and stands at US$4317.

Economic organizations

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GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

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GDP per capita (in US$)

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GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

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Relative GDP in PPP

Population

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Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Guatemala can be considered to be a mono theistic state which has freedom of religion which is largely skewed to Christianity due to its adoption of Catholicism as its state religion.

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

It has a military budget of US$344 million which accounts for 0.45 percent of its GDP and makes Guatemala the 110th highest military spender in the world.

The military of Guatemala consists of a national Army, a Navy and Air Force. It has a military budget of US$344 million which accounts for 0.45 percent of its GDP and makes Guatemala the 110th highest military spender in the world. Most of its equipment is supplied by the United States, Spain and France.

Military membership

Guatemala is a member of five international military organizations which ranks it as the 70th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

System of Cooperation Among the American Air Forces
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Guatemala has fought two international wars. These are:

Campaign of 1856–1857
Mexico–Guatemala conflict 1958-1959

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Guatemala is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 84th most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Organization of American States
Association of Caribbean States
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation

and Restoration of Cultural Property

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite its troubled past, Guatemala has entered a period of relative political stability. As a result, regular elections have taken place of the last two decades and corruption as well as misallocation of funds have been reduced. Therefore, Guatemala is the 82nd most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Guatemala takes place in the form of a presidential republic where the president of Guatemala is head of government and head of state.

Organization of Ibero-American States
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Guinea.

As the fifth most Christian state in the world, Guatemala has a Christian population that represents 95.6 percent of the total population. The largest denominations in Guatemala are Roman Catholics, Pentecostals and Protestants.

Islam is practiced by just over 1000 people and represents less than 0.01 percent of the total population. This makes Guatemala the 186th most Islamic state in the world. The majority of Muslims in Guatemala are Palestinian refugees that followed the Sunni branch of Islam. There two mosques located in the south of Guatemala and have been present about 40 years.

Buddhism is represented by 0.07 percent of the population and has been present in Guatemala since the turn of the 21st century. Throughout Guatemala there are several Buddhists retreats as well as Buddhist centres which teach the practice of Buddhism.

There are no official organizations related to Hinduism in Guatemala.

Because of the high wealth disparity, a large portion of the population lives under the poverty line. Therefore, Guatemalan citizens face health risks that are related to malnutrition. The result of malnutrition can be found in limited growth in children which have an effect in later life. The average life expectancy is the 102nd highest in the world and stands at 75.1 years. Women reach 77.9 years while men reach 72.1 years.

Children between the ages of four and ten receive compulsory education that is provided for free by the Guatemalan government. However, in the more rural areas to the north, the Guatemalan educational system is not reaching all children. This has led to a low literacy rate of 79.5 percent which makes Guatemala the 141st most literate state in the world. Another aspect that contributes to illiteracy is the gender roles that are being pushed on girls which requires them to focus more on traditional women roles instead of education. Another factor is the wealth disparity within Guatemala which demotivates the last wealthy population to invest in education.

Known for its volcanic landscape as well as its dense rain forest from which it derived its name, Guatemala has only been in existence for more than 180 years. Before European contact, Guatemala was home to the Mayan civilization. After its first contact at the end of the 15th century, Spain conquered the area and incorporated it into the United province of Central America. When this province collapsed, Guatemala gained its independence in 1839 when it became a republic. Since then, Guatemala has seen many dictators as well as military coups. During the Cold War, rising tensions between left-wing groups and the military erupted in a civil war which lasted until 1995 and cost the lives of more than 200,000 people. Currently, there are tensions between large migration groups that go from South America through Guatemala to the United States. .

Its geography is made up of active volcanoes and a large mountain range that goes around and through its central and southern part. This mountain range splits the territory of Guatemala into its northern densely forested plateau, and its lightly forested coastal lowlands. It borders Mexico to its west and north, Belize to its northeast, Honduras to its east and El Salvador to its southeast. It also borders the Caribbean Sea to its northeast and the Pacific Ocean to its south.

It has a total surface area of 109,433 square kilometers or 42,252 square miles. This makes Guatemala the 105th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Iceland and slightly smaller than Cuba.

It has a total water surface area of 1739 square kilometers or 673 square miles which makes it the 92nd state with the highest amount of surface water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Around 1.6 percent of its total landmass is covered by water. Most of its water comes in the form of surface water. However, due to a lack of regulation of its water, a large part is polluted and is seen as not drinkable.

Afghanistan's share of water, as well as the other states are displayed below.

Guatemala has a tropical climate with large temperature shifts between its mountain range and the remaining lands. The average temperature is 21.1 degrees Celsius or 71.7 degrees Fahrenheit which makes Guatemala the 93rd warmest state in the world.

Its average high temperature is 27.9 degrees Celsius or 82.2 degrees Fahrenheit which mainly occurs in the months March and April.

Its average low temperature is 20.7 degrees Celsius or 96.3 degrees Fahrenheit and mainly occurs from May to October.

Wedged between two oceans and located in in the tropical zone, Guatemala experiences a high amount of rainfall. Ranked as the 49th state with the highest amount of rainfall, Guatemala receives 158.7 centimetres or 62.5 inches of rainfall per year. The majority of its rainfall occurs in the month June which is solely responsible for 20 percent of all rainfall.

It had held regular elections. However, the presidency has been in the hands of the same person for over twenty years.

The economy of Guatemala is a mixed economy which combines private freedom with governmental central planning. Most of its GDP comes from the export of agricultural goods with bananas solely being responsible for more than 10 percent of its GDP. Since the cease-fire between the government and left-wing groups, foreign investment has been increasing over the last two decades. Other sources of income are largely in the form of remittances from foreign workers in the United States. Aside from bananas, Guatemala's largest exports are clothing, sugar coffee and palm oil which are mainly exported to the United States which is responsible for 35 percent of total exports. Most of its imports also comes from the United States which is responsible for nearly 40 percent of total imports.

Guatemala is a member of 10 economic organizations which ranks it as the 158th most economically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

It has a GDP of 85 billion US dollars which ranks it as the 68th highest in the world.

Its GDP per service area is the 80th highest in the world with nearly US$700,000 per square kilometer or US$1.8 billion per square mile.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is US$8500 which is the 128th highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

The population of Guatemala mainly consists of Latino and Mayan people which represent around 60 and 30 percent of the population respectively. Its official language is Spanish, but Mayan languages are also recognized by the Guatemalan government. Both groups live relatively separately with the Latino population, which also has the most influence in Guatemala, residing in the southern suburban part of Guatemala and the Mayan population living in the forested area in the northern part of Guatemala. Its total population size is 17.7 million people which makes Guatemala the 65th most populous state in the world.

It has the 57th highest population density in the world with 161 people per square kilometer or 417 people per square mile.

Emigration from Guatemala is represented by 6.8 percent of the population or roughly 1.2 million people. Most Guatemalan emigrants are under the age of 20 and are looking for economic opportunities in the United States which receives more than 80 percent of all emigrants.

Immigration to Guatemala has been in a legal and illegal form. The legal form allows people to emigrate to Guatemala if they are a net contributor to the Guatemalan economy. This could be in the form of investments as well as filling job shortages in specific sectors. Illegal immigration has been present for the last 50 years and is mainly due to the political instability of the region as well as an economic instability of some other states within the region. Of the illegal migrants, around 50,000 people have migrated to Guatemala which represents 0.27 percent of the population.

Less than 1000 Jews live in Guatemala, mainly its capital Guatemala City and mainly originate from central and eastern Europe.

Other religions mainly consist of the Maya religion that is practiced by the Maya population.

Irreligion is practiced by 2.7 percent of the population and has had a slow growth since the end of the 20th century.