1988 Edition

Airfields

9 total, 9 usable, 8 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 1 with runways 1,220-2,439

Boundary disputes

none; claims Belize

Civil air

2 major transport aircraft

Climate

tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)

tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Coastline

400 km

Comparative area

about the size of Tennessee

Continental shelf

not specific

Environment

frequent devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation

numerous volcanoes in mountains with frequent violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Ethnic divisions

56% Ladino (mestizo and westernized Indian), 44% Indian

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Highways

1,954 km total; 1,600 km paved, 340 km gravel and earth

Infant mortality rate

66/1,000 (1982)

Land boundaries

1,625 km total

Land use

2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures; 44% forest and woodland; 52% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

12% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 40% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 1% irrigated

Language

Spanish, but over 40% of the population speaks an Indian language as a primary tongue (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)

Life expectancy

60

Literacy

50% Labor force (1985): 2.5 million; 57.0% agriculture, 14.0% manufacturing, 13.0% services, 7.0% commerce, 4.0% construction, 3.0% transport, 0.8% utilities, 0.4% mining; unemployment and underemployment 40%

Military manpower

males 15-49, 89,000 100km North Pacific Ocean See regional mip III

Nationality

noun — Guatemalan(s); adjective— Guatemalan

Organized labor

10% of labor force (1986)

Population

8,622,387 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.45%

Ports

1 major (Pointe-a-Pitre), 3 minor

Religion

predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, traditional Mayan

Special notes

national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a coastline on the

no natural harbors on west coast

Telecommunications

domestic facilities inadequate; 57,300 telephones (17.4 per 100 popl.); interisland radio-relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique; 2 AM, 6 FM, 9 TV stations; 1 INTELSAT satellite station Defense Forces Defense is responsibility of France

Terrain

flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

108,890 km2; land area: 108,430 km2

Administrative divisions

22 departments

Branches

traditionally dominant executive; new 100-member congress installed 14 January 1986; power vested in Office of President; 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 congressional election held 3 November 1985; presidential runoff election held 8 December 1985 Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo; National Centrist Union (UCN), Jorge Carpio Nicolle; National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario Sandoval Alarcon; Institutional Democratic Party (PID) in coalition with MLN; People's Democratic Force (FDP) in coalition with MLN; Democratic Party of National Cooperation (PDCN), Jorge Serrano Elias; Revolutionary Party (PR) in coalition with PDCN; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Solarzano Martinez; National Renewal Party (PNR), Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre; National Authentic Center (CAN), Mario David Garcia; AntiCommunist Democratic Front (DUA) in coalition with PDA; emerging Movement for Harmony (MEC) in coalition with PUA; 14 political groups participated in national election for a civilian president, congress, and mayoralties; in runoff elections between Vinicio Cerezo (DCG) and Jorge Carpio (UCN), Cerezo won by a 2 to 1 margin

Government leader

Marco Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo, President (since January 1986)

Legal system

civil law system; constitution came into effect 1966 but suspended following March 1982 coup; Constituent Assembly elected in July 1984 completed drafting new constitution and other electoral laws in June 1985; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE — Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, 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), Mutual Support Group (GAM)

Suffrage

universal over age 18, compulsory for literates, optional for illiterates Guatemala (continued)

Type

republic

Voting strength

(November 1985) DCG, 38.65%; UCN, 20.23%; PDCN/PR, 13.78%; MLN/PID, 12.56%; CAN, 6.28%; PSD, 3.41%; PNR, 3.15%; PUA/FUN/MEC, 1.91%; (December 1985) DCB 51 seats, UCN 22 seats, MLN 12 seats, PDCN/PR 11 seats, PSD 2 seats, PNR 1 seat, CAN 1 seat

Agriculture

coffee, cotton, corn, beans, sugarcane, bananas, livestock; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis

Aid

US, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $432 million; from other Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-84), $6.7 billion

Budget

expenditures, $1.710 billion; revenues, $975 million (1986 est.)

Electric power

878,000 kW capacity; 2,250 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1985); coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, meat

Fiscal year

calendar year

Fishing

catch 4,300 metric tons (1982)

GDP

$9.2 billion (1985), $1,120 per capita; 26% commerce, 25% agriculture, 9% financial services, 7% transportation and communication, 6% government, 27% other; average annual real growth rate 5.7% (1975-80); real growth rate 0.0% (1986)

Imports

$1.3 billion (c.i.f., 1985); manufactured products, machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, fuels

Major industries

food processing, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, nonmetallic minerals, metals

Major trade partners

exports (1985) — 35% US, 17% El Salvador, 6% Honduras, 5% Costa Rica; imports (1983)— 33% US, 10% El Salvador, 8% Netherland Antilles, 7% Mexico, 7% Venezuela

Military transfers

US (FY70-85), $22 million

Monetary conversion rate

1 quetzal = US$1 (official, November 1986); 3.30 quetzals=US$l (unofficial, December 1985)

Natural resources

oil, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle

Airfields

501 total, 455 usable; 11 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Civil air

10 major transport aircraft

Highways

26,429 km total; 2,868 km paved, 11,421 km gravel, and 12,140 unimproved

Inland waterways

260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season

Military budget

proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1987, $269.3 million; 10.5% of central government budget Guernsey Alderney English Channel

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,989,000; 1,295,000 fit for military service; 94,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

crude oil, 275 km

Ports

2 major (El Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla), 3 minor

Railroads

870 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 780 km government owned, 90 km privately owned

Telecommunications

fairly modern network centered on Guatemala; 97,670 telephones (1.6 per 100 popl.); 91 AM, 13 shortwave, 24 TV stations; connection into Central American microwave net; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station Defense Forces