Guatemala
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Guatemala

A country of striking features and a strong indigenous culture, Guatemala's natural beauty and powerful identity are in stark contrast to its bloody past and troubled present.

Mountainous, heavily forested and dotted with Mayan ruins, lakes, volcanoes, orchids and exotic birds, Guatemala is among the most beautiful countries in Central America. It has a sizeable indigenous population, the Maya, who make up about half of its total populace and continue to speak Mayan languages and follow Mayan traditions.

Guatemala's beauty and strength of identity have not been matched by its cohesion and prosperity. In 1996 the country emerged from a 36-year-long civil war in which more than 200,000 people were killed or disappeared.

Country Map

Government type:

Constitutional Democratic Republic

Capital:

Guatemala

Natural resources:

Petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower

Agriculture - products:

Sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens

Industries:

Sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Ethnic groups:

  • Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino) approximately 55%

  • Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%,

  • whites and others 2%

Religions:

Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs

Languages:

  • Spanish 60%,

  • Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

Literacy:

  • Definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.6%

  • male: 68.7%

  • female: 58.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

4.2 million

Unemployment rate:

8%

Labor force - by occupation:

  • Agriculture 50%,

  • Industry 15%,

  • Services 35%

Population below poverty line:

60%