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 Guatemala| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Álvaro Colom Caballeros
(2008) Land area: 41,865 sq mi (108,430 sq km);
total area: 42,042 sq mi (108,890 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 13,276,517 (growth
rate: 2.0%); birth rate: 27.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 27.8/1000;
life expectancy: 70.3; density per sq km: 119
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Guatemala City, 2,655,900 (metro. area),
1,128,800 (city proper) Other large
cities: Mixco, 287,600; Villa Nueva, 138,900 Monetary unit: Quetzal More Facts & Figures |
GeographyThe northernmost of the Central American
nations, Guatemala is the size of Tennessee. Its neighbors are Mexico on
the north and west, and Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador on the east. The
country consists of three main regions—the cool highlands with the
heaviest population, the tropical area along the Pacific and Caribbean
coasts, and the tropical jungle in the northern lowlands (known as the
Petén).
GovernmentConstitutional democratic republic.
HistoryOnce the site of the impressive ancient Mayan
civilization, Guatemala was conquered by Spanish conquistador Pedro de
Alvarado in 1524 and became a republic in 1839 after the United Provinces
of Central America collapsed. From 1898 to 1920, dictator Manuel Estrada
Cabrera ran the country, and from 1931 to 1944, Gen. Jorge Ubico Castaneda
served as strongman.
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