Guatemala

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official name	Republic of Guatemala — República de Guatemala
Former names	The Captaincy General of Guatemala under Spain (1609–1821); a state of the Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1839)
Demonym	Guatemalan; chapín in the vernacular
Meaning of the name	From the Nahuatl Cuauhtemallan, "the place of many trees" — the name Alvarado's Mexican allies gave the K'iche' land in 1524
Motto	"Libertad" — on the arms, with the date 15 de septiembre de 1821
Nickname	The Land of Eternal Spring — for the highland climate

Quick facts

Capital	Guatemala City — Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción — the capital since 1776; at 1,500 m; about 1 million in the city, 3 million in the metropolitan area, the largest in Central America
Largest cities	Guatemala City; Mixco and Villa Nueva, its suburbs; Quetzaltenango — Xela; Escuintla; Cobán; Huehuetenango; Antigua Guatemala, the old capital
Official language	Spanish; 22 Mayan languages — K'iche', Q'eqchi', Kaqchikel, Mam the largest — with Garifuna and Xinca recognized as national languages
Currency	Quetzal — ISO code GTQ, Q; 100 centavos; about 7.7 to the U.S. dollar
Time zone	Central Standard Time, UTC−6, all year
Calling code	+502
Internet domain	.gt
ISO 3166 codes	GT · GTM · 320
Vehicle registration code	GCA
Driving side	Right
Electricity	120 V, 60 Hz; plug types A and B
Independence	15 September 1821, from Spain, with Central America — the national day; the republic 21 March 1847
National days	15 September, Independence Day; 30 June, Army Day, for the Liberal Revolution of 1871; 20 October, Revolution Day, for 1944; 1 November, All Saints, with the giant kites of Sumpango; Holy Week, the greatest of the year
Constitution	14 January 1986 — the Constitution of 1985, adopted 31 May 1985 by the constituent assembly; amended after the referendum of 1994; a president of one four-year term, never re-electable
Population	14,901,286 at the census of 2018; about 18.5 million (INE and UN, 2025 est.) — the largest in Central America
Area	108,889 km² (42,042 sq mi) — land 107,159 km², water 1,730 km²

Flag & national symbols

National flag	Three vertical bands of sky blue, white and sky blue — the two oceans, and the land between them, in the colors of the Central American federation — with the coat of arms at the center: the quetzal on a scroll dated 15 de septiembre de 1821, over crossed rifles and swords in a laurel wreath; adopted 17 August 1871, the arms of the same year.Flag of Guatemala
Coat of arms	The resplendent quetzal perched on a parchment bearing Libertad and the date of independence, over two crossed Remington rifles and two swords, within a laurel wreath — the arms of 18 November 1871, drawn by the Swiss engraver Johann Baptist Frener
National anthem	"Guatemala Feliz" — words by José Joaquín Palma, a Cuban poet, published anonymously, music by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle; first sung 14 March 1897; the words softened in 1934
National motto	"Libertad"
National colors	Sky blue and white
National bird	The resplendent quetzal — Pharomachrus mocinno — the bird of the Maya gods, on the flag, the arms and the money; declared 1871
National flower	The monja blanca — the white nun, the orchid Lycaste skinneri var. alba; declared 11 February 1934
National tree	The ceiba — the kapok, the sacred tree of the Maya; declared 8 March 1955
National instrument	The marimba — declared 1978; the national symbol of 1999
National dish	Pepián, the spiced stew of Kaqchikel origin; kak'ik, the turkey soup of Cobán; the tamales of Christmas; widely cited — pepián declared cultural heritage
Symbol status	The flag and arms are fixed by decree; the anthem by the decree of 1897; the bird, flower, tree and instrument by decree; the dishes by heritage declaration

Geography

Location	The north of Central America — the Pacific to the south, a short Caribbean coast on the Gulf of Honduras to the east; Mexico north and west, Belize northeast, Honduras and El Salvador southeast
Land borders	1,667 km (1,036 mi) with four countries
Border with Mexico	958 km (595 mi) — the Usumacinta and the Suchiate; the crossing of the migrants
Border with Belize	266 km (165 mi) — the whole of Belize claimed until 1991, about half since; the dispute before the International Court of Justice since 2019 after the referendums of 2018 and 2019, the judgment awaited
Border with Honduras	244 km (152 mi)
Border with El Salvador	199 km (124 mi)
Coastline	400 km (249 mi) — 254 km on the Pacific, 148 km on the Caribbean
Highest point	Tajumulco, 4,203 m (13,789 ft) — the highest in Central America
Lowest point	The Pacific Ocean, 0 m
Mean elevation	759 m (2,490 ft)
Volcanoes	37 — three active: Fuego, erupting since 2002 and on 3 June 2018 killing some 200 at San Miguel Los Lotes; Pacaya above the capital; Santiaguito, the dome of Santa María, whose eruption of 1902 was among the largest of the century; Acatenango, Agua and Atitlán
Major rivers	The Motagua, 486 km, the longest, to the Caribbean along the fault; the Usumacinta on the Mexican border, the largest by flow; the Polochic to Lake Izabal; the Río Dulce; the Sarstún on the Belize border
Lakes	Izabal, about 590 km², the largest, draining by the Río Dulce to the sea; Atitlán, in a caldera under three volcanoes, 340 m deep, the deepest in Central America — "the most beautiful lake in the world," said Humboldt; Petén Itzá with Flores; Amatitlán
Terrain	The Pacific coastal plain; the volcanic Sierra Madre and the highlands where the Maya live; the Cuchumatanes, the highest non-volcanic range in Central America; the Petén lowlands of forest and ruins, a third of the country; the Caribbean lowlands of Izabal
Climate	Tropical on the coasts and in the Petén; temperate in the highlands — the eternal spring; the rainy season from May to October; the hurricanes of both coasts
Natural hazards	Earthquakes — 4 February 1976, magnitude 7.5, about 23,000 dead; the volcanoes; Hurricane Mitch 1998, Stan 2005, Eta and Iota 2020; landslides; the sinkholes of the capital
Natural resources	Oil in the Petén; nickel at El Estor; gold and silver at Marlin and Escobal, disputed; jade; the farmland of the coast
Land use	Agricultural land about 41%; forest about 33%
National parks	Tikal, 1955, the ruins in the rainforest; the Maya Biosphere Reserve of the Petén, 21,000 km², the largest protected area in Central America; Sierra del Lacandón; Laguna del Tigre; Semuc Champey; the volcano parks
UNESCO World Heritage	4 — Antigua Guatemala (1979); Tikal National Park (1979), a mixed site; the Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quiriguá (1981); the National Archaeological Park Tak'alik Ab'aj (2023)
Administrative divisions	22 departments — Guatemala, Petén the largest, Quetzaltenango, Escuintla and the rest — and 340 municipalities

People

Population	14,901,286 (census of 2018); about 18.5 million (2025 est.)
Population density	About 170 per km² (440 per sq mi) — the highlands crowded, the Petén empty
Population growth	About 1.5% a year
Median age	About 24 years
Life expectancy	About 73 years
Fertility rate	About 2.3 births per woman
Urban population	About 53%
Adult literacy	About 83%
Ethnic groups	Ladino — mestizo and Spanish-speaking — about 56%; Maya about 42%, the largest Indigenous population in Central America, of 22 peoples; Garifuna, on the Caribbean coast, and Xinca about 1% together (census of 2018)
Languages	Spanish by about 90%; K'iche' by about a million, Q'eqchi' by a million, Kaqchikel, Mam and the eighteen other Mayan languages; Garifuna; Xinca, nearly extinct
Religion	Roman Catholic about 42%; Evangelical Protestant about 40%, among the highest shares in Latin America, from the earthquake and the war; Maya spirituality woven through; no religion about 14%
Human Development Index	0.662 (2023 data, 2025 report) — medium; about 135th of 193 — among the lowest in the Americas
Malnutrition	About half of children under five chronically malnourished — the highest rate in the Americas and among the highest in the world, in the Maya highlands above all
Migration	Some 3 million Guatemalans in the United States; the largest source of migrants at the U.S. border in some years; the deportation flights of 2025–26 and the migration agreement with Washington of 2025
Sport	Football — Los Chapines, never at a World Cup, the semifinal of the Gold Cup of 2025; Erick Barrondo's race-walking silver of 2012, the only Olympic medal; the Guatemala City marathon; the giant kites
Diaspora	About 3 million in the United States — Los Angeles, New York, Houston — with Mexico, Canada and Spain; remittances the country's largest income

Government

Form of government	Unitary presidential republic under the Constitution of 1985 — the president head of state and government for one four-year term, never re-electable; the attorney general, the courts and the electoral tribunal chosen by commissions
President	Bernardo Arévalo (Seed Movement — Semilla), since 15 January 2024 — the 52nd; a sociologist and diplomat, born 7 October 1958 in Montevideo in his father's exile, the son of Juan José Arévalo, president 1945–1951; won the runoff of 20 August 2023 with 58% against Sandra Torres after a surprise second place in the first round
Vice President	Karin Herrera (Semilla), since 15 January 2024 — a microbiologist and academic
The inauguration	Delayed nine hours on 14–15 January 2024 by the outgoing Congress and sworn in past midnight, after the prosecutor's office had raided the electoral tribunal, sought to annul the election and suspended Semilla — moves the OAS and the observers called an attempted coup; the Constitutional Court ordered the transfer
The attorney general	Consuelo Porras, attorney general 2018–2026, sanctioned by the United States, the EU and some forty countries for obstructing justice — the president unable by law to remove her, and Congress refusing to change it; the nominating commission left her off its list in April 2026, and Gabriel Estuardo García Luna, a lawyer chosen from six, took office on 17 May 2026 for four years, "a new chapter" in the president's words
Semilla	The president's party suspended in 2023 and annulled by the courts in 2024–25, its 23 deputies declared independents and barred from the leadership of Congress; the new Supreme Electoral Tribunal seated in March 2026 for the election of 2027
Congress	The Congress of the Republic — 160 deputies elected for four years, the opposition blocs of the old parties in the majority; the "corrupt pact" of the president's description
The next election	The general election due in June 2027 — the president, the Congress, the mayors and the Central American Parliament; the runoff in August; Arévalo barred from standing
Security	A state of emergency of 30 days declared 18 January 2026 against organized crime; the maximum-security prison for 2,000 announced October 2025; the gangs, the extortion and a homicide rate near 17 per 100,000, down by half since 2009
The civil war	1960–1996 — some 200,000 killed or disappeared, 83% of them Maya, by the Historical Clarification Commission's count, 93% of the crimes by the state; the scorched-earth campaigns of 1981–83 under Ríos Montt, found to be genocide by the commission and by a court in 2013, the verdict annulled; the peace accords of 29 December 1996; Rigoberta Menchú's Nobel Peace Prize of 1992
Legal system	Civil law; the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal; the CICIG, the UN anti-corruption commission of 2007–2019 that jailed a president, expelled by Jimmy Morales
Departments	22, each under a governor appointed by the president; the 340 municipalities with elected mayors
Belize	The claim to Belize, once whole and since 1991 to about half — settled to be judged by the International Court of Justice under the referendums of 2018 in Guatemala and 2019 in Belize; the case filed 2019, the judgment awaited
United Nations	A founding member, 21 November 1945
Memberships	The Central American Integration System (SICA); the Central American Parliament, seated in Guatemala City; the OAS; CAFTA-DR since 2006; the WTO; a diplomatic partner of Taiwan, one of its last in the Americas

Economy

GDP (nominal)	About US$115 billion (2025, IMF) — the largest economy in Central America
GDP per capita	About US$6,000 (2025)
GDP per capita (PPP)	About US$12,000 (2025)
GDP growth	About 3.5–4% a year (2024–25) — steady, on the remittances; inflation low; the budget of 2026 about US$21 billion
Economy by sector	Services about 62%, industry about 23%, agriculture about 10% — employing a third
Currency	Quetzal (GTQ)
Remittances	About US$21 billion in 2024 and more in 2025 — about a fifth of GDP, the largest source of foreign exchange, from the 3 million in the United States
Agriculture	Coffee — the arabica of Antigua, Huehuetenango and Cobán; sugar — the fourth exporter in the world; bananas; cardamom — the largest producer and exporter on earth, from the Alta Verapaz; palm oil; the vegetables of the highlands
Industry	Textiles and apparel for the U.S. market; the free zones; nickel from the Fenix mine at El Estor; the Escobal silver mine suspended since 2017 over the consultation of the Xinka
Trade	The United States about a third of exports and the trade deal of 2025 that cut tariffs; Central America; Mexico; China buys and Taiwan is recognized
Poverty	About 55% of the population below the national poverty line, and 80% of the Indigenous; the informal economy about 70% of workers
Public debt	About 27% of GDP — among the lowest in Latin America, and the taxes among the lowest too, about 12% of GDP
Income classification	Upper-middle income (World Bank)

Transport & infrastructure

Main airport	La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City; Mundo Maya at Flores for Tikal
Airlines	No national carrier since Aviateca merged into TACA; Avianca, American, United, Copa and the Central American carriers
Main ports	Puerto Quetzal on the Pacific, the largest; Santo Tomás de Castilla and Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean
Railways	None in service — the FEGUA lines of the banana age, some 900 km, closed since 2007; the Metro Riel of the capital planned
Roads	About 17,000 km (10,600 mi), about half paved; the Pan-American Highway, CA-1, through the highlands; CA-9 from the Pacific to the Caribbean through the capital; the Transmetro buses of Guatemala City
The volcano and the lake	The boats of Lake Atitlán between Panajachel and the Maya villages; the road to Tikal through the Petén

History in dates

c. 2000 BC	The Maya settle the lowlands
c. 250–900	The Classic Maya — Tikal, El Mirador, Quiriguá; the collapse of the 9th century
1524	Pedro de Alvarado conquers the K'iche' at Xelajú, 20 February
1543	Antigua founded as the capital of the kingdom
1773	The Santa Marta earthquake ruins Antigua; the capital moves, 1776
1821	Independence, 15 September
1839	Guatemala leaves the Central American federation; the republic of 1847
1871	The Liberal Revolution of Barrios, 30 June; the flag and arms
1901	The United Fruit Company arrives — the banana republic
1944	The October Revolution, 20 October — Juan José Arévalo president, 1945
1954	The CIA coup against Árbenz, 27 June
1960	The civil war begins, 13 November
1976	The earthquake of 4 February — about 23,000 dead
1982	Ríos Montt's coup, 23 March; the massacres of the highlands
1985	The Constitution, 31 May
1992	Rigoberta Menchú's Nobel Peace Prize
1996	The peace accords, 29 December
1998	Bishop Gerardi murdered two days after the Nunca Más report, 26 April
2007	The CICIG founded
2015	President Pérez Molina resigns and is jailed, 3 September
2018	Fuego erupts, 3 June
2019	The CICIG expelled, September
2023	Arévalo wins the runoff, 20 August
2024	Arévalo inaugurated after midnight, 15 January
2026	García Luna attorney general, 17 May
2027	The general election due, June

Records & firsts

The highest point in Central America	Tajumulco, 4,203 m
The deepest lake in Central America	Atitlán, 340 m
The largest cardamom producer	The Alta Verapaz
The largest Indigenous population in Central America	The Maya, about 42%
The most populous country in Central America	About 18.5 million
Tikal	The greatest of the Classic Maya cities
A currency named for a bird	The quetzal
Two Nobel laureates	Miguel Ángel Asturias, literature 1967; Rigoberta Menchú, peace 1992
The first genocide verdict against a former head of state in his own country	Ríos Montt, 2013 — annulled ten days later
A president sworn in past midnight	Arévalo, 15 January 2024
The largest protected area in Central America	The Maya Biosphere Reserve
The original banana republic	The United Fruit Company's Guatemala

Frequently asked questions

What is the official name of Guatemala?

The Republic of Guatemala — República de Guatemala — since the republic of 1847, when it left the Federal Republic of Central America for good; independence from Spain came on 15 September 1821 with the rest of the isthmus. The name is from the Nahuatl Cuauhtemallan, "the place of many trees," which the Tlaxcalan allies of Pedro de Alvarado gave the K'iche' kingdom in 1524; the Maya were here two thousand years before, and their descendants are two-fifths of the nation.

What is the capital of Guatemala?

Guatemala City — Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción — in a highland valley at 1,500 m, the capital since 1776, when the earthquakes of 1773 ruined Antigua Guatemala, the capital of the Spanish kingdom before it; about a million people in the city and 3 million in the metropolitan area, the largest city in Central America. Quetzaltenango — Xela — in the western highlands is the second city; Escuintla, Mixco and Villa Nueva follow; Antigua, under three volcanoes, is a World Heritage site and the country's showpiece.

How big is Guatemala, and how many people live there?

About 108,889 km² (42,042 sq mi) — a little smaller than Tennessee — the northernmost country of Central America, from the Pacific over the volcanic highlands to the rainforest of the Petén and a short Caribbean coast. The census of 2018 counted 14,901,286 people; INE and the UN estimate about 18.5 million for 2025, the largest population in Central America, half of it under 25, and some 3 million more Guatemalans live in the United States.

What are the highest and lowest points of Guatemala?

Tajumulco, 4,203 m (13,789 ft), a volcano in the Sierra Madre near the Mexican border — the highest point in Central America — and the Pacific. Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, three of them active: Fuego, whose eruption of June 2018 killed some 200; Pacaya; and Santiaguito. Lake Atitlán, in a caldera under three volcanoes, is the deepest lake in Central America at 340 m; Lake Izabal the largest.

What currency does Guatemala use?

The quetzal (ISO code GTQ, Q), of 100 centavos, issued by the Bank of Guatemala since 1925 and named for the national bird, whose tail feathers were the money of the Maya — at about 7.7 to the U.S. dollar, one of the steadiest currencies in Latin America. Clocks keep Central Standard Time, UTC−6, all year.

Who governs Guatemala?

President Bernardo Arévalo of the Seed Movement, Semilla, in office since 15 January 2024 — sworn in nine hours late after months of attempts by the prosecutor's office to keep the winner of the 2023 election from taking it, which observers called an attempted coup; he is the son of Juan José Arévalo, the first president of the democratic spring of 1944–54. Karin Herrera is vice president. On 17 May 2026 Gabriel García Luna took office as attorney general, ending the eight years of Consuelo Porras, whom some forty countries had sanctioned for obstructing justice; the courts have annulled Semilla as a party and made its deputies independents. The general election is due in June 2027, and presidents may not be re-elected.

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