President: Otto Pérez Molina (2012)

Land area: 41,865 sq mi (108,430 sq km); total area: 42,042 sq mi (108,890 sq km)

Population (2011 est.): 14,099,032 (growth rate: 1.948%); birth rate: 26.48/1000; infant mortality rate: 25.16/1000; life expectancy: 71.17

Capital and largest city (2009 est.): Guatemala City, 1.075 million

Monetary unit: Quetzal

National name: República de Guatemala

Current government officials

Languages: Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

Ethnicity/race: Mestizo (Ladino)—mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry—and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001)

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs

National Holiday: Independence Day, September 15

Literacy rate: 71% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $74.64 billion; per capita $5,000. Real growth rate: 3.8%. Inflation: 6.2%. Unemployment: 4.1% (2011 est.). Arable land: 13.22%. Agriculture: sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens. Labor force: 5.571 million; agriculture 38%, industry 14%, services 48% (2011 est.). Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism. Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower. Exports: $10.46 billion (2011 est.): coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom. Imports: $16.6 billion (2011 est.): fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity. Major trading partners: U.S., El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, South Korea, China (2009).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.499 million (2009); mobile cellular: 18.068 million (2009). Broadcast media: 4 privately-owned national terrestrial TV channels dominate TV broadcasting; multi-channel satellite and cable services are available; 1 government-owned radio station and hundreds of privately-owned radio stations (2007). Internet hosts: 346,834 (2010). Internet users: 2.279 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 332 km (2008). Highways: total: 14,095 km; paved: 4,863 km (including 75 km of expressways); unpaved: 9,247 km (2000). Waterways: 990 km; note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2012). Ports and harbors: Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla. Airports: 291 (2012).

International disputes: annual ministerial meetings under the Organization of American States-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea; Guatemala persists in its territorial claim to half of Belize, but agrees to Line of Adjacency to keep Guatemalan squatters out of Belize's forested interior; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States.

Major sources and definitions