1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
108,880 km2; 14% cultivated, 10% pasture, 57% forest, 19% other
Coastline
400 km
Land boundaries
1,625 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; 200 nm exclusive economic zone)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
58.6% Ladino (mestizo and westernized Indian), 41.4% Indian
Language
Spanish, but over 40% of the population speaks an Indian language as a primary tongue
Literacy
about 30% Labor force (1974): 1.8 million; 52.5% agriculture, 10.1% manufacturing, 21.7% services, 7.9% commerce, 3.9% construction, 2.1% transport, 0.7% mining, 1.2% electrical, 0.8% other; unemployment estimates vary from 3% to 25%
Nationality
noun—Guatemalan(s); adjective—Guatemalan
Organized labor
6.4% of labor force (1975)
Population
7,537,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.1%
Religion
predominantly Roman Catholic
Government
Branches
traditionally dominant executive; elected unicameral legislature; seven-member (minimum) Supreme Court
Capital
Guatemala
Communists
Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT); main radical left guerrilla groups—Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), Revolutionary Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), Rebel Armed Forces (FAR), and PGT Dissidents
Elections
last elections (President and Congress) 7 March 1982 Political parties and leaders: Democratic Institutional Party (PID), Donaldo Alvarez Ruiz; Revolutionary Party (PR), Jorge García-Granados Quiñonez (secretary general); National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario Sandoval Alarcón; Guatemalan Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo (secretary general); René de Léon Schlotter (honorary president and party strongman); Nationalist Authentic Central (CAN), Luis Alfonso López (secretary general), Gustavo Anzueto Vielman (secretary and 1982 presidential candidate), Gen. Carlos Arana Osorio (party strongman); National United Front (FUN), Col. Enrique Peralta Azurdia; Nationalist Renovator Party (PNR), Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre; United Revolutionary Party (FUR); suspended political activity of all parties following March 1982 coup
Government leader
military junta under the presidency of Gen. (Ret.) Efrain RIOS MONTT following coup of 23 March 1982, which removed President Maj. Gen. Fernando Romeo Lucas García; Gen. Angel Anibal Guevara had been elected president in the March 1982 election and was scheduled to take office on 1 July 1982
Legal system
civil law system; constitution came into effect 1966; constitution suspended following March 1982 coup; judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at University of San Carlos of Guatemala; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO
National holiday
Independence Day, 15 September
Official name
Republic of Guatemala
Other political or pressure groups
Federated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACIF)
Political subdivisions
22 departments
Suffrage
universal over age 18, compulsory for literates, optional for illiterates
Type
republic
Voting strength
(1978) for President—PID/PR, 269,973 (42.3%); MLN, 211,393 (33.1%); DCG, 156,730 (24.6%); for congressional seats—PID/PR, 34 seats; MLN, 20 seats; DCG, 7 seats
Economy
Agriculture
main products—coffee, cotton, corn, beans, sugarcane, bananas, livestock; caloric intake, 2,156 calories per day per capita (1977) Major industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, nonmetallic minerals, metals
Aid
economic commitments—US, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $241 million; from other Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF, $99 million; military—assistance from US (FY70-79), $22 million Central government budget (1981 est.): expenditures, $1,280 million; revenues, $815 million
Electric power
420,000 kW capacity (1980); 1.43 billion kWh produced (1980), 200 kWh per capita
Exports
$1,757 million (f.o.b., 1980); coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, meat
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$7.8 billion (1980 est.), $1,080 per capita; 76% private consumption, 7% government consumption, 22% domestic investment (1978), -5% net foreign balance (1978); average annual real growth rate (1974-80), 4.3%
Imports
$1,971 million (c.i.f., 1980); manufactured products, machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, fuels
Major trade partners
exports (1979)—31% US, 26% CACM, 10% West Germany, 9% Japan; imports (1979)—33% US, 15% CACM, 10% Venezuela, 10% Japan, 6% West Germany
Monetary conversion rate
1 quetzal=US$1 (official)
Communications
Airfields
532 total, 527 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
14 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
26,429 km total; 2,851 km paved, 11,438 km gravel, and 12,140 unimproved
Inland waterways
260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season
Pipelines
crude oil, 48 km
Ports
2 major (San Jose, and Santo Tomas de Castilla), 3 minor
Railroads
909 km, 0.914-meter gauge, single tracked; 819 km government owned, 90 km privately owned
Telecommunications
modern telecom facilities limited to Guatemala City; 70,600 telephones (1.4 per 100 popl.); 97 AM, 20 FM, and 25 TV stations; connection into Central American microwave net; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station
Military and Security
Military budget
proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $79.0 million; 5.4% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,750,000; 1,189,000 fit for military service; about 82,000 reach military age (18) annually