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{{dablink|This article is about the country in [[Central America]]. For other uses, see [[Guatemala (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Infobox Country
| native_name = ''República de Guatemala''
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Guatemala
| common_name = Guatemala
| image_flag = Flag of Guatemala.svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Guatemala.svg
| image_map = LocationGuatemala.svg
| national_motto = "Libre Crezca Fecundo"<small><br/>"Grow Free and Fertile"</small>
| national_anthem = [[Himno Nacional de Guatemala]]
| official_languages = [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ([[de facto]])
| demonym = Guatemalan
| capital = [[Guatemala City]]
| latd = 14
| latm = 38
| latNS = N
| longd = 90
| longm = 30
| longEW = W
| largest_city = capital
| government_type = [[Presidential republic]]
| leader_title1 = [[President of Guatemala|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Álvaro Colom Caballeros]]
| leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Guatemala|Vice President]]
| leader_name2 = [[Rafael Espada]]
| area_rank = 106th
| area_magnitude = 1 E11
| area_km2 = 108,890
| area_sq_mi = 42,042<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water = 0.4
| population_estimate = 13,000,001
| population_estimate_rank = 70th
| population_estimate_year = July 2008
| population_census = 12,728,111
| population_census_year = July 2007
| population_density_km2 = 134.6
| population_density_sq_mi = 348.6<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 85th
| GDP_PPP = $62.580 billion<ref name=imf2>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2004&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=258&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=30&pr.y=7 |title=Guatemala|publisher=International Monetary Fund|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2007
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = $4,702<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_nominal = $33.694 billion<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_nominal_year = 2007
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $2,531<ref name=imf2/>
| sovereignty_type = [[Independence]]
| sovereignty_note = from Spain
| established_event1 = Date
| established_date1 = 15 September 1821
| HDI = {{increase}} 0.689
| HDI_rank = 118th
| HDI_year = 2007
| HDI_category = <font color="#ffcc00">medium</font>
| Gini = 55.1
| Gini_year = 2002
| Gini_category = <font color="#e0584e">high</font>
| currency = [[Guatemalan quetzal|Quetzal]]
| currency_code = GTQ
| country_code =
| time_zone =
| utc_offset = -6
| time_zone_DST =
| utc_offset_DST =
| drives_on = right
| cctld = [[.gt]]
| calling_code = 502
| footnotes =
}}
'''Guatemala''' ({{lang-es|República de Guatemala}}, {{IPA-es|re̞ˈpuβ̞lika ð̞e̞ ɣ̞wate̞ˈmala}}) is a country in [[Central America]] bordered by [[Mexico]] to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, [[Belize]] and the Caribbean to the northeast, and [[Honduras]] and [[El Salvador]] to the southeast.

A [[representative democracy]], its capital is [[Guatemala City]]. The nation has been stable since 1996 and has been in a state of continuous development and economic growth. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to [[Mesoamerica]]'s designation as a [[biodiversity hotspot]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Biodiversity Hotspots-Mesoamerica-Overview |publisher= Conservation International |url= http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/mesoamerica/ |accessdate= 2007-02-01 }}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of Guatemala}}
[[Image:Tikal.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tikal]] Maya Ruins, Temple II]]

===Pre-Columbian===
The first evidence of human settlers in Guatemala goes back to at least 12,000 BC. There is some evidence that may put this date as early as 18,000 BC, such as [[obsidian]] arrow heads found in various parts of the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.authenticmaya.com/ancient_guatemala.htm | title=Ancient Guatemala | publisher=Authentic Maya | author=Mary Esquivel de Villalobos | accessdate=2007-04-29}}</ref> There is archaeological proof that early Guatemalan settlers were hunters and gatherers, but pollen samples from [[Petén Basin|Petén]] and the Pacific coast indicate that [[maize]] cultivation was developed by 3500 BC.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/hodell/ICDP/Leyden.pdf | publisher=University of Florida | title=Pollen Evidence for Climatic Variability and Cultural Disturbance in the Maya Lowlands | author=Barbara Leyden | access | format=PDF}}</ref> Archaic sites have been documented in [[Quiché department|Quiché]] in the Highlands and [[Sipacate]], [[Escuintla]] on the central Pacific coast (6500 BC).

Archaeologists divide the [[pre-Columbian]] history of [[Mesoamerica]] into 3 periods: the Pre-Classic from 2000 BC to 250 AD, the Classic from 250 to 900 AD, and the Calistic from 900 to 1500 AD.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/arch/mexchron.html | title=Chronological Table of Mesoamerican Archaeology | publisher=Regents of the University of California : Division of Social Sciences | accessdate=2007-04-29}}</ref> Until recently, the Pre-Classic was regarded as a formative period, with small villages of farmers who lived in huts, and few permanent buildings, but this notion has been challenged by recent discoveries of monumental architecture from that period, such as an altar in [[La Blanca]], [[San Marcos department|San Marcos]], from 1000 BC; ceremonial sites at Miraflores and El Naranjo from 801 BC; the earliest monumental masks; and the [[Mirador Basin]] cities of [[Nakbé]], Xulnal, [[El Tintal]], Wakná and [[El Mirador]].

El Mirador was by far the most populated city in pre-Columbian America. Both the El Tigre and Monos pyramids encompass a volume greater than 250,000 cubic meters.<ref>Trigger, Bruce G. and Washburn, Wilcomb E. and Adams, Richard E. W. ''The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas''. 2000, page 212.</ref> Mirador was the first politically organized state in America, named the Kan Kingdom in ancient texts. There were 26 cities, all connected by Sacbeob (highways), which were several kilometers long, up to 40 meters wide, and two to four meters above the ground, paved with [[stucco]], that are clearly distinguishable from the air in the most extensive virgin tropical rain forest in Mesoamerica.
[[Image:Nakbe str.JPG|thumb|[[Nakbé]], Mid Preclassic palace remains, in [[Mirador Basin]], [[Petén]].]]
The Classic period of [[Mesoamerican]] civilization corresponds to the height of the [[Maya civilization]], and is represented by countless sites throughout Guatemala, although the largest concentration is in [[Petén Basin|Petén]]. This period is characterized by heavy city-building, the development of independent city-states, and contact with other Mesoamerican cultures.

This lasted until around 900 AD, when the Classic Maya civilization collapsed. The Maya abandoned many of the cities of the central lowlands or were killed off by a drought-induced famine.<ref>Dr. Richardson Gill, The Great Maya Droughts (2000), University of New Mexico Press.</ref> Scientists debate the cause of the Classic Maya Collapse, but gaining currency is the Drought Theory discovered by physical scientists studying lakebeds, ancient pollen, and other tangible evidence.<ref>Dr. Richardson Gill, The Great Maya Droughts (2000), University of New Mexico Press</ref> A series of prolonged droughts in what is otherwise a seasonal desert is thought to have decimated the Maya, who were primarily reliant upon regular rainfall.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The Post-Classic period is represented by regional kingdoms such as the Itzá and Ko'woj in the lakes area in Petén, and the Mam, Ki'ch'es, Kack'chiquel, Tz'utuh'il, Pokom'chí, Kek'chi and Chortí in the Highlands. These cities preserved many aspects of Mayan culture, but would never equal the size or power of the Classic cities.

===Colonial===
[[Image:Capuchinas.jpg|thumb|left|Capuchinas convent in [[Antigua Guatemala]]]]

After arriving in what was named the [[New World]], the Spanish mounted several expeditions to Guatemala, beginning in 1518. Before long, Spanish contact resulted in an [[epidemic]] that devastated native populations.
[[Hernán Cortés]], who had led the [[Spanish conquest of Mexico]], granted a permit to Captains Gonzalo de Alvarado and his brother, [[Pedro de Alvarado]], to conquer this land. Alvarado at first allied himself with the [[Cakchiquel]] nation to fight against their traditional rivals the [[Quiché]] nation. Alvarado later turned against the Cakchiquels, and eventually held the entire region under Spanish domination.

During the colonial period, Guatemala was an [[Audiencia]] and a [[Captaincy|Captaincy General]] (''[[Captaincy General of Guatemala|Capitanía General de Guatemala]]'') of Spain, and a part of [[New Spain]] (Mexico).{{Fact|date=February 2008}} It extended from the modern Mexican states of [[Tabasco]] and [[Chiapas]] (including the then separate administration of [[Soconusco]]) to [[Costa Rica]]. This region was not as rich in minerals (gold and silver) as Mexico and Peru, and was therefore not considered to be as important. Its main products were sugarcane, cocoa, blue [[añil]] dye, red dye from [[cochineal]] insects, and precious woods used in artwork for churches and palaces in Spain.

The first capital was named [[Tecpan Guatemala]], founded in July 25, 1524 with the name of [[Villa de Santiago de Guatemala]] and was located near [[Iximché]], the Cakchiquel's capital city, It was moved to [[Ciudad Vieja]] on November 22, 1527, when the Cakchiquel attacked the city. On September 11, 1541 the city was flooded when the lagoon in the [[Volcanic crater|crater]] of the [[Volcán de Agua|Agua Volcano]] collapsed due to heavy rains and earthquakes, and was moved {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} to [[Antigua Guatemala]], on the Panchoy Valley, now a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]. This city was destroyed by several earthquakes in 1773-1774, and the King of Spain, granted the authorization to move the capital to the Ermita Valley, named after a Catholic church to the Virgen de El Carmen, in its current location, founded in January 2, 1776.

===Independence and 19th century===
[[Image:Independence Day Guatemala.jpg|thumb|Independence Day parade in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala.]]

On September 15, 1821, the Captaincy-general of Guatemala (formed by [[Chiapas]], Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras) officially proclaimed its independence from Spain and its incorporation into the [[Mexican Empire]], which was dissolved two years later. This region had been formally subject to New Spain throughout the colonial period, but as a practical matter was administered separately. All but [[Chiapas]] soon separated from [[Mexico]] after Agustín I from [[Mexico]] was forced to abdicate.

The Guatemalan provinces formed the [[United Provinces of Central America]], also called the Central American Federation (Federacion de Estados Centroamericanos). That federation dissolved in civil war from 1838 to 1840 (''See:'' [[History of Central America]]). Guatemala's [[Rafael Carrera]] was instrumental in leading the revolt against the federal government and breaking apart the Union. During this period a region of the Highlands, [[Los Altos, Central America|Los Altos]], declared independence from Guatemala, but was annexed by Carrera, who dominated Guatemalan politics until 1865, backed by conservatives, large land owners and the church.

Guatemala's "Liberal Revolution" came in 1871 under the leadership of [[Justo Rufino Barrios]], who worked to modernize the country, improve trade, and introduce new crops and manufacturing. During this era [[coffee]] became an important crop for Guatemala. Barrios had ambitions of reuniting Central America and took the country to war in an unsuccessful attempt to attain this, losing his life on the battlefield in 1885 against forces in El Salvador.

===1944 to present===
On July 4, 1944, Dictator [[Jorge Ubico Castañeda]] was forced to resign his office in response to a wave of protests and a [[general strike]]. His replacement, General [[Juan Federico Ponce Vaides]], was later also forced out of office on October 20, 1944 by a [[coup d'état]] led by Major [[Francisco Javier Arana]] and Captain [[Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán]]. About 100 people were killed in the coup. The country was led by a [[military junta]] made up of Arana, Arbenz, and [[Jorge Toriello Garrido]]. The Junta called Guatemala's first free election, which was won with a majority of 85 percent by the prominent writer and teacher [[Juan José Arévalo Bermejo]], who had lived in exile in Argentina for 14 years. Arévalo was the first democratically elected president of Guatemala to fully complete the term for which he was elected. His "Christian Socialist" policies, inspired by the U.S. [[New Deal]], were criticized by landowners and the upper class as "communist."

This period was also the beginning of the [[Cold War]] between the U.S. and the USSR, which was to have a considerable influence on Guatemalan history. From the 1950s through the 1990s, the U.S. government directly supported Guatemala's army with training, weapons, and money.

In 1954, Arévalo's freely elected Guatemalan successor, [[Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán|Jacobo Arbenz]], was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in the [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état]]. Colonel [[Carlos Castillo Armas]] was installed as president in 1954 and ruled until he was assassinated by a member of his personal guard in 1957.

In the election that followed, General [[José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes|Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes]] assumed power. He is most celebrated for challenging the Mexican president to a gentleman's duel on the bridge on the south border to end a feud on the subject of illegal fishing by Mexican boats on Guatemala's Pacific coast, two of which were sunk by the Guatemalan Air Force. Ydigoras authorized the training of 5,000 anti-[[Fidel Castro|Castro]] [[Cubans]] in Guatemala. He also provided airstrips in the region of [[Petén (department)|Petén]] for what later became the failed [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] in 1961. Ydigoras' government was ousted in 1963 when the Air Force attacked several military bases. The coup was led by his Defense Minister, Colonel [[Enrique Peralta Azurdia]].

In 1966, [[Julio César Méndez Montenegro]] was elected president of Guatemala under the banner "Democratic Opening." Mendez Montenegro was the candidate of the Revolutionary Party, a center-left party which had its origins in the post-Ubico era. It was during this time that rightist [[paramilitary]] organizations, such as the "White Hand" ([[Mano Blanca]]), and the Anticommunist Secret Army, (Ejército Secreto Anticomunista), were formed. Those organizations were the forerunners of the infamous "[[Death squad|Death Squads]]." Military advisers of The [[United States Army Special Forces]] (Green Berets) were sent to Guatemala to train troops and help transform its army into a modern counter-insurgency force, which eventually made it the most sophisticated in Central America.

In 1970, Colonel [[Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio]] was elected president. A new guerrilla movement entered the country from Mexico, into the Western Highlands in 1972. In the [[Guatemalan general election, 1974|disputed election of 1974]], General [[Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García|Kjell Lauguerud García]] defeated General [[Efraín Ríos Montt]], a candidate of the Christian Democratic Party, who claimed that he had been cheated out of a victory through fraud. On February 4, 1976, a major earthquake destroyed several cities and caused more than 25,000 deaths. In 1978, in a fraudulent election, General [[Romeo Lucas García]] assumed power. The 1970s saw the birth of two new guerrilla organizations, The Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) and the Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), who began and intensified by the end of the seventies, guerrilla attacks that included urban and rural guerrilla warfare, mainly against the military and some of the civilian supporters of the army. In 1979, the U.S. president, [[Jimmy Carter]], ordered a ban on all military aid to the Guatemalan Army because of the widespread and systematic abuse of human rights.

In 1980, a group of Quiché Indigenous Peoples took over the Spanish Embassy to protest army massacres in the countryside. The Guatemalan government launched an assault that killed almost everyone inside as a result of a fire that consumed the building. The Guatemalan government claimed that the activists set the fire and immolated themselves.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950248,00.html Outright Murder]</ref> However, the Spanish ambassador, who survived the fire, disputed this claim, claiming that the Guatemalan police intentionally killed almost everyone inside and set the fire to erase traces of their acts. As a result of this incident, the government of Spain broke diplomatic relations with Guatemala. This government was overthrown in 1982. General [[Efraín Ríos Montt]] was named President of the military junta, continuing the bloody campaign of torture, disappearances, and "[[scorched earth]]" warfare. The country became a [[pariah]] state internationally. Ríos Montt was overthrown by General [[Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores]], who called for an election of a national constitutional assembly to write a new constitution, leading to a free election in 1986, which was won by [[Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo|Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo]], the candidate of the Christian Democracy Party.

In 1982, the four Guerrilla groups, EGP, ORPA, FAR and PGT, merged and formed the [[Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity|URNG]], influenced by the [[El Salvador|Salvador]]an guerrilla [[FMLN]], the [[Nicaragua]]n [[FSLN]] and [[Cuba]]'s Government, in order to become stronger. As a result of the Army's "[[scorched earth]]" tactics in the countryside, more than 45,000 Guatemalans fled across the border to [[Mexico]]. The Mexican government placed the refugees in camps in [[Chiapas]] and [[Tabasco]].

In 1992, the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] was awarded to [[Rigoberta Menchú]] for her efforts to bring international attention to the government-sponsored [[genocide]] against the indigenous population.

The [[Guatemalan Civil War]] ended in 1996 with a peace accord between the guerrillas and the government, negotiated by the [[United Nations]] through intense brokerage by nations such as Norway and Spain. Both sides made major concessions. The guerrilla fighters disarmed and received land to work. According to the U.N.-sponsored [[truth commission]] the ("[[Commission for Historical Clarification]]"), government forces and state-sponsored paramilitaries were responsible for over 93% of the human rights violations during the war.<ref name=RightsViolations>{{cite web|accessdate=2006-12-26
|url=http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ceh/report/english/conc2.html
|title=Conclusions: Human rights violations, acts of violence and assignment of responsibility
|work=Guatemala: Memory of Silence
|publisher=Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification}}</ref>
During the first 10 years, the victims of the state-sponsored terror were primarily students, workers, professionals, and opposition figures, but in the last years they were thousands of mostly rural Mayan farmers and non-combatants. More than 450 Mayan villages were destroyed and over 1 million people became internal and external refugees. In certain areas, such as [[Baja Verapaz]], the Truth Commission considered that the Guatemalan state engaged in an intentional policy of genocide against particular ethnic groups in the [[Guatemalan Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=RightsViolations />
In 1999, U.S. president [[Bill Clinton]] stated that the United States was wrong to have provided support to Guatemalan military forces that took part in the brutal civilian killings.<ref name=Babington1999>{{cite news|accessdate=2006-12-26
|title=Clinton: Support for Guatemala Was Wrong
|author=Babington, Charles
|work=Washington Post |date=March 11, 1999|pages=Page A1}}</ref>

Since the peace accords, Guatemala has witnessed successive democratic elections, most recently in 2007. The past government has signed free trade agreements with the United States and the rest of Central America through [[CAFTA]], and other agreements with Mexico. In 2007 elections were held in Guatemala. El Partido Nacional de la Esperanza and its president candidate Álvaro Colom won the presidency as well as the majority of the seats in congress.

== Politics ==
{{main|Politics of Guatemala}}

Guatemala is a [[presidential system|presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], whereby the [[President of Guatemala]] is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]], and of a [[multi-party system]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the government. [[Legislative power]] is vested in both the government and the [[Congress of the Republic of Guatemala|Congress of the Republic]]. The [[Judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature.
[[Álvaro Colom]] is the President of Guatemala as of 14 January 2008

===Foreign Relations===
{{main|Foreign relations of Guatemala}}

The Chair of the [[Latin America and the Caribbean]] group is the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the [[United Nations]].<ref>[http://www.un.int/guatemala/ Mision Permanente de Guatemala ante las Naciones Unidas<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>http://www.unelections.org/files/IGP_PGASelectionLetter_18Jan07.pdf</ref>

==Departments and municipalities==
{{main|Departments of Guatemala|Municipalities of Guatemala}}
[[Image:GuatemalaProvs.PNG|thumb|350px|Departments of Guatemala]]

Guatemala is divided into 22 [[Department (subnational entity)|departments]] (''departamentos'') and sub-divided into about 332 [[municipality|municipalities]] (''municipios'').

The [[Departments of Guatemala|departments]] include:
<table><td><ol>
<li>[[Alta Verapaz]]
<li>[[Baja Verapaz]]
<li>[[Chimaltenango department|Chimaltenango]]
<li>[[Chiquimula department|Chiquimula]]
<li>[[Petén (department)|Petén]]
<li>[[El Progreso department|El Progreso]]
<li>[[Quiché (department)|El Quiché]]
<li>[[Escuintla department|Escuintla]]
<li>[[Guatemala department|Guatemala]]
<li>[[Huehuetenango department|Huehuetenango]]
<li>[[Izabal Department|Izabal]]
</td></ol><td><ol start=12>
<li>[[Jalapa department|Jalapa]]
<li>[[Jutiapa department|Jutiapa]]
<li>[[Quetzaltenango department|Quetzaltenango]]
<li>[[Retalhuleu department|Retalhuleu]]
<li>[[Sacatepéquez (department)|Sacatepéquez]]
<li>[[San Marcos department|San Marcos]]
<li>[[Santa Rosa department, Guatemala|Santa Rosa]]
<li>[[Sololá department|Sololá]]
<li>[[Suchitepéquez department|Suchitepéquez]]
<li>[[Totonicapán department|Totonicapán]]
<li>[[Zacapa department|Zacapa]]
</td></ol></table>

Guatemala is heavily centralized. Transportation, communications, business, politics, and the most relevant urban activity take place in [[Guatemala City]]. There is only one highway that traverses the greater communities of the country. Some coastal towns are accessible only through the coast by boats.

Guatemala City has about 2 million inhabitants within the city limits and more than 5 million within in the urban area. This is a significant percentage of the population (12 million).{{Verify source|date=July 2007}}

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of Guatemala}}
[[Image:Guatemala-CIA WFB Map.png|thumb|Map of Guatemala]]
[[Image:Guatamala Highlands 2006 08.JPG|left|200px|thumb|left|The highlands of Guatamala.]]
[[Image:Usumacinta.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The [[Usumacinta River]], the border between [[Mexico]] (near side), and Guatemala (far side).]]

Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the vast northern lowlands of [[Petén (department)|Petén]] department. Two mountain chains enter Guatemala from west to east, dividing the country into three major regions: the highlands, where the mountains are located; the Pacific coast, south of the mountains; and the Petén region, north of the mountains. All major cities are located in the highlands and Pacific coast regions; by comparison, Petén is sparsely populated. These three regions vary in climate, elevation, and landscape, providing dramatic contrasts between hot and humid tropical lowlands and colder and drier highland peaks. [[Volcán Tajumulco]], at 4,220 meters, is the highest point in the Central American states.

The rivers are short and shallow in the Pacific drainage basin, larger and deeper in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico drainage basins, which include the [[Polochic River|Polochic]] and [[Dulce River]]s, which drain into [[Lake Izabal]], the [[Motagua River]], the Sarstún that forms the boundary with Belize, and the [[Usumacinta River]], which forms the boundary between Petén and [[Chiapas]], [[Mexico]].

Guatemala has long claimed all or part of the territory of neighbouring Belize, formerly part of the Spanish colony, and currently an independent [[Commonwealth Realm]] which recognises [[Queen Elizabeth II]] as its [[Head of State]]. Guatemala recognized Belize's independence in 1990, but their territorial dispute is not resolved. Negotiations are currently underway under the auspices of the [[Organization of American States]] and the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] to conclude it.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh59.htm | publisher=American Society of International Law | work=ASIL Insights | title=OAS Mediates in Belize-Guatemala Border Dispute | author=Montserrat Gorina-Ysern | accessdate=2007-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Historia General de Guatemala | id=ISBN 84-88622-07-4}}</ref>

===Natural disasters===
Guatemala's location between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, such as [[Hurricane Mitch]] in 1998 and [[Hurricane Stan]] in October 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. The damage was not wind related, but rather due to significant [[flooding]] and resulting [[mudflow|mudslides]].

Guatemala's highlands lie along the [[Motagua Fault]], part of the boundary between the [[Caribbean Plate|Caribbean]] and [[North American Plate|North American]] [[tectonic plates]]. This fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes in historic times, including a 7.5 magnitude tremor on February 4, 1976 which killed more than 25,000 people. In addition, the [[Middle America Trench]], a major [[subduction zone]] lies off the Pacific coast. Here, the [[Cocos Plate]] is sinking beneath the Caribbean Plate, producing volcanic activity inland of the coast. Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them active: [[Pacaya]], [[Santiaguito]], [[Fuego]] and [[Tacaná]].

===Biodiversity===
The country has 14 ecoregions ranging from Mangrove forests, to both ocean littorals with 5 different ecosystems. Guatemala has 252 listed wetlands, including 5 lakes, 61 lagoons, 100 rivers, and 3 swamps.{{PDFlink|[http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2001_2005/press/guatemalahumedales.pdf]|63.1&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 64640 bytes -->}} [[Tikal]] National Park, was the first mixed [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]. Guatemala is a country of distinct [[fauna]]. It has some 1246 known species. Of these, 6.7% are [[endemism|endemic]] and 8.1% are threatened.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Guatemala is home to at least 8681 species of vascular plants, of which 13.5% are endemic. 5.4% of Guatemala is protected under IUCN categories I-V.

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of Guatemala}}
[[Image:Chichicastenango-004.jpg|170px|Guatemalan girls in [[Chichicastenango]].|thumb|right|upright]]

According to the CIA [[World Fact Book]], Guatemala has a population of 12,728,111 (2007 est). The majority of the population is [[Ladino people|Ladino]], also called [[Mestizo]] (mixed [[Amerindian]] and Spanish), and Whites (primarily of Spanish, but also those of German, English, Italian, and Scandinavian descent), they make up a combined total of 59.4%. [[Amerindian]]s populations include the [[K'iche]] 9.1%, [[Kaqchikel]] 8.4%, [[Mam people|Mam]] 7.9% and [[Q'eqchi]] 6.3%. 8.6% of the population is "other [[Maya peoples|Mayan]]", 0.2% is indigenous non-Mayan, and 0.1% is "other".<ref name="cia">{{cite web| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html#People| title=Guatemala| work=World Factbook| publisher=CIA| accessdate=2007-12-17}}</ref> There are smaller communities present. The [[Garífuna]], who are descended from African slaves, live mainly in Livingston and [[Puerto Barrios]], and other blacks and [[mulatto]]s. There are also Arabs of [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] and [[Demographics of Syria|Syrian]] descent, and Asians, mostly of Chinese descent. There is also a growing [[Koreans|Korean]] community in Guatemala City and in nearby [[Mixco]], currently numbering about 50,000.[http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2004/agosto/29/96392.html] Guatemala's German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country.<ref> [http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/traditions-world.html History of the Christmas Tree]</ref>

In 1900, Guatemala had a population of 885,000.<ref>[http://www.populstat.info/Americas/guatemac.htm] Population Statistics </ref> Over the course of the twentieth century the population of the country grew, the fastest growth in the Western Hemisphere. The ever-increasing pattern of emigration to the U.S. has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s.<ref> [http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=385 Migration Information Statistics] </ref>

===Diaspora===
The Civil War forced many Guatemalans to start lives outside of their country. The majority of the Guatemalan [[diaspora]] is located in the United States with estimates ranging from 480,000<ref>The [[2000 U.S. Census]] recorded 480,665 Guatemalan-born respondents; see Smith (2006)</ref> to 1 million.<ref>{{cite web |author=Smith, James |year=2006 |month=April |url=http://www.migrationdrc.org/research/typesofmigration/global_migrant_origin_database.html DRC Migration, Globalisation and Poverty |title= Global Labour Mobility<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> The difficulty in getting accurate counts for Guatemalans abroad is because many of them are [[refugee]] claimants awaiting determination of their status.<ref>[http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/guatemalans.html Multicultural Canada<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Below are current statistics for certain countries:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Country
!Count
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|USA}} USA
|align="right"|{{nts|489426 – 1102090}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Mexico]]
|align="right"|{{nts|23529 – 190000}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Belize}} [[Belize]]
|align="right"|{{nts|14,693}}{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Canada}} Canada
|align="right"|{{nts|}}34,665[http://www.yorku.ca/cohesion/LARG/PDF/Guatemala-WWD-2002.pdf]
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
|align="right"|{{nts|5,989}}{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Honduras}} [[Honduras]]
|align="right"|{{nts|5,172}}{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|El Salvador}} [[El Salvador]]
|align="right"|{{nts|4,209}}{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Spain}} Spain
|align="right"|{{nts|}}5,000[http://www.embajadaguatemala.es/]
|}

==Economy==
{{main|Economy of Guatemala}}
[[Image:Guatemala market.jpg|A market in Guatemala|thumb|upright]]

According to the CIA World Factbook, Guatemala's GDP per capita is [[United States dollar|US$]]5,000; however, this [[developing country]] still faces many social problems and is among the 10 poorest countries in Latin America.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - GDP - per capita (PPP)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The distribution of income remains highly unequal with approximately 29%<ref>[http://www.eclac.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/1/21981/P21981.xml&xsl=/dds/tpl-i/p9f.xsl&base=/tpl/top-bottom.xslt Poverty, hunger and food security in Central America and Panama<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> of the population living below the [[poverty]] line and just over 400,000 (3.2%) [[unemployed]].

[[Remittance]]s from Guatemalans who fled to the United States during the civil war now constitute the largest single source of foreign income (more than the combined value of exports and tourism).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html#Econ CIA - The World Factbook - Guatemala<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In last years the exporter sector of nontraditional products has grown dynamically representing more than 53 percent of global exports. Some of the main products for export are fruits, vegetables, flowers, handicrafts, cloths and others.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP) in 2006 was estimated at $61.38 billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 58.7%, followed by the agriculture sector at 22.1% (2006 est.). The industrial sector represents only 19.1% of GDP (2006 est.). The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Organic coffee, sugar, textiles, fresh vegetables, and bananas are the country's main exports. Inflation was 5.7% in 2006.

The 1996 peace accords that ended the decades-long Civil War removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. Tourism has become an increasing source of revenue for Guatemala.

In March 2005 Guatemala's congress ratified the [[Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement|Dominican Republic - Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)]] between several Central American nations and the United States.<ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/gtm-summary-eng "Guatemala Report 2006: Summary Review"] ''Amnesty International'', 2006, retrieved January 26, 2007.</ref> Guatemala also has free trade agreements with [[Taiwan]] and [[Colombia]].

==Culture==
Guatemala City is home to many of the nation's libraries and museums, including the National Archives, the National Library, and the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, which has an extensive collection of Maya artifacts. There are private museums, such as the Ixchel, which focuses on textiles, and the Popol Vuh, which focuses on Maya archaeology. Both museums are housed inside the [[Universidad Francisco Marroquín]] campus. Almost each of the 329 municipalities in the country has a small museum.
[[Image:AntiguaGuatemala.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Musicians in [[Antigua Guatemala]].]]
;Literature
The [[Guatemala National Prize in Literature]] is a one-time only award that recognizes an individual writer's body of work. It has been given annually since 1988 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

[[Miguel Ángel Asturias]], won the literature Nobel Prize in 1967. Among his famous books is "El Señor Presidente", a novel based on the government of Manuel Estrada Cabrera.

;Music
The [[Music of Guatemala]] comprises a number of styles and expressions. The [[Maya civilization|Maya]] had an intense musical practice, as is documented by [[iconography]]. Guatemala was also one of the first regions in the New World to be introduced to European music, from 1524 on. Many composers from the Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary music styles have contributed works of all genres. The [[marimba]] is the national instrument that has developed a large repertoire of very attractive pieces that have been popular for more than a century. The ''Historia General de Guatemala'' has published a series of CDs of historical [[Music of Guatemala]], in which every style is present, from the Maya, colonial period, independent and republican eras to current times. There are many contemporary music groups in Guatemala from [[Caribbean music]], [[Salsa music|salsa]], [[punta]] ([[Garifuna]] influenced), [[Latin pop]], [[Music of Mexico|Mexican regional]], and [[mariachi]]. There is also a vibrant scene for what is known in the [[Hispanosphere#Hispanosphere|Hispanic world]] as [[rock en Español]] (Spanish rock).

===Language===
{{seealso|Central American Spanish}}
[[Image:Idiomasmap.jpg|thumb|Language Map of Guatemala, according to the ''Comisión de Oficialización de los Idiomas Indígenas de Guatemala''. The dark green area represents Spanish.]]

Although Spanish is the official language, it is not universally spoken among the indigenous population, nor is it often spoken as a second language. Twenty-one distinct [[Mayan language]]s are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as several non-Mayan [[Amerindian]] languages, such as the indigenous [[Xinca language|Xinca]], and [[Garifuna]], an [[Arawakan]] language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to Decreto Número 19-2003, twenty-three languages are recognized as National Languages.<ref name=Decreto19-2003>{{cite web|accessdate=2007-06-10
|url= http://www.oj.gob.gt/es/QueEsOJ/EstructuraOJ/UnidadesAdministrativas/CentroAnalisisDocumentacionJudicial/cds/CDs%20leyes/2003/Leyes%20en%20PDF/Decretos%202003/Decreto%2019-2003.pdf.
|title=Ley de Idiomas Nacionales, Decreto Número 19-2003
|format=PDF |language=Spanish
|publisher=El Conreso de la Republica de Guatemala}}</ref>

The Peace Accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages (see summary of main substantive accords) and mandate the provision of interpreters in legal cases for non-Spanish speakers. The accord also sanctioned bilingual education in Spanish and indigenous languages. It is common for indigenous Guatemalans to learn or speak between two to five of the nation's other languages, including Spanish. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}

===Religion===
[[Image:Catedral Metropolitana, Guatemala City.jpg|thumb|left|[[Catedral Metropolitana]] in [[Guatemala City]].]]

50-60% of the population is Catholic, 40% Protestant, and 1% follow the indigenous Mayan faith. Catholicism was the only official religion during the colonial era.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} However, Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades. More than one third of Guatemalans are Protestant, chiefly [[Evangelicalism|Evangelicals]] and [[Pentecostal]]s. [[Protestantism]] and traditional [[Maya civilization|Mayan]] religions are practiced by an estimated 40% and 1% of the population, respectively.[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71462.htm] It is common for traditional Mayan practices to be incorporated into Catholic ceremonies and worship, a phenomenon known as [[syncretism]].
The practice of traditional Mayan religion is increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. The government has instituted a policy of providing altars at every Mayan ruin found in the country so that traditional ceremonies may be performed there.

There are also small communities of [[Jews in Guatemala|Jews]] estimated between 1200 and 2000[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90255.htm], [[Islam in Guatemala|Muslims]] (1200), [[Buddhism|Buddhists]] at around 9000 to 12000[http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=64], and members of other faiths and those who do not profess any faith.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has over 210,000 members in Guatemala.[http://www.dccalendar.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/guatemala]

===Education===
The government runs a number of public elementary and secondary-level schools. These schools are free, though the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation makes them less accessible to the poorer segments of society. Many middle and upper-class children go to private schools. The country also has one public university (USAC or [[Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala]]), and 9 private ones (see [[List of universities in Guatemala]]). USAC was one of the first universities in America. It was officially declared a university on January 31, 1676 by royal command of King Charles II of Spain. Only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate, the lowest literacy rate in Central America. Although it has the lowest literacy rate, Guatemala is expected to change this within the next 10 years.<ref>{{cite web
|accessdate=2007-01-15|url=http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=6705_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
|title=LA Literacy Rates |month=September | year=2006
|work=UNESCO Institute for Statistics}}</ref>

==See also==
{{main|List of Guatemala-related topics}}
{{see also|List of Central America-related topics}}
{{portal|Guatemala|Flag of Guatemala.svg|left=yes}}
{{clear}}
*[[Communications in Guatemala]]
*[[List of birds of Guatemala]]
*[[List of Guatemalans]]
*[[Resplendent Quetzal]] (national symbol of Guatemala)

==Notes==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{Reflist}}

* Historia General de Guatemala, 1999, several authors ISBN 84-88522-07-4.

==Further reading==
* Eisermann, Knut and Avendaño, Claudia, ''Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Guatemala'' [http://www.hbw.com/lynx/en/lynx-edicions/novedades/CHK0005-lista-comentada-aves-guatemala-annotated-checklist-birds.html]

==External links==
{{sisterlinks}}
* [http://www.guatemala.gob.gt Government of Guatemala] {{es icon}}
* {{CIA_World_Factbook_link|gt|Guatemala}}
* [http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/guatemala.htm Guatemala] at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* {{dmoz|Regional/Central_America/Guatemala}}
* [http://www.ghrc-usa.org/ Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA] - Website of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, with special reports on human rights, genocide trials, impunity, the Merida Initiative, femicide, Bishop Gerardi's assassination, and more.
* [http://www.nisgua.org/home.asp Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala] = Website of Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, with special reports on justice and accountability
* [http://www.grupoquepasa.com/ Que Pasa Magazines], monthly resources dedicated to what's happening in Guatemala City and Antigua.
* [http://rightsaction.org/ Rights Action] - Website of Rights Action, with special reports on mining, human rights, the struggles of indigenous people, and impunity
* {{wikiatlas|Guatemala}}
{{Template group
|title = Geographic locale
|list =
{{Departments of Guatemala}}
{{Countries of Central America}}
{{Countries of North America}}
}}
{{Template group
|title = International membership
|list =
{{Latin Union}}
}}

<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Guatemala| ]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]
[[Category:Spanish-speaking countries]]

<!--Other languages-->

[[af:Guatemala]]
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[[el:Γουατεμάλα]]
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[[ko:과테말라]]
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Revision as of 03:26, 11 December 2008

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