Guatemala
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Guatemala City
- Population
- 18,255,216 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 108,889 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- Religions
- Evangelical 45.7%, Roman Catholic 42.4%, none 11%, unspecified 0.9% (2023 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Mestizo (mixed Indigenous-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Maya 41.7%, Xinca (Indigenous, non-Maya) 1.8%, African descent 0.2%, Garifuna (mixed West and Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak) 0.1%, foreign 0.2% (2018 est.)
- Currency
- quetzales (GTQ)
- Life Expectancy
- 73.5 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .gt
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
- Terrain
- two east-west trending mountain chains divide the country into three regions: the mountainous highlands, the Pacific coast south of mountains, and the vast northern Peten lowlands
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
- Major Exports
- garments, bananas, coffee, palm oil, raw sugar (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
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.