| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala
local long form: Republica de Guatemala
local short form: Guatemala |
| Capital: |
Guatemala |
| Location: |
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
15 30 N, 90 15 W |
| Area: |
total: 108,890 sq km
land: 108,430 sq km
water: 460 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Tennessee |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
| Coastline: |
400 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
constitutional democratic republic |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa |
| Independence |
15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
| Constitution: |
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993 |
| Legal
System; |
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day) |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 9 November 2003; runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held November 2007)
election results: Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA) 54.1%, Alvaro COLOM (UNE) 45.9% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 November 2003 (next to be held November 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18
note: for the 9 November 2003 election, the number of congressional seats increased from 113 to 158 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democratic Union or UD [Rodolfo PAIZ Andrade]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Oscar BERGER Perdomo]; Green Party or LOV [Rodolfo ROSALES Garcis-Salaz]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Alba ESTELA Maldonado, secretary general]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU [Jacobo ARBENZ Villanueva]; Movement for Principals and Values or MPV [Francisco BIANCHI]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel LOPEZ Rodas, secretary general]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvarado COLOM Caballeros]; New Nation Alliance or ANN (formed by an alliance of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom subsequently defected) [led by three co-equal partners - Nineth Varenca MONTENEGRO Cottom, Rodolfo BAUER Paiz, and Jorge Antonio BALSELLS TUT]; Patriot Party or PP [retired General Otto PEREZ Molina]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE, secretary general]; Unionista Party [leader NA] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
14,655,189 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 3,185,037/female 3,033,947)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 4,019,052/female 3,928,984)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 226,745/female 261,424) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 18.47 years
male: 18.25 years
female: 18.71 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan |
| 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% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
846,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
1,577,100 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala
domestic: NA
international: country code - 502; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.gt |
| Internet hosts: |
20,360 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
400,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 886 km
narrow gauge: 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 14,118 km
paved: 4,871 km (including 74 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,247 km (1999) |
| Waterways: |
990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
oil 480 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
452 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 441
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 109
under 914 m: 323 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
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