1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 108,890 km2 land area: 108,430 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Climate
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Coastline
400 km
Environment
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
International disputes
border with Belize in dispute; negotiations to resolve the dispute have begun
Irrigated land
780 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 1,687 km, Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km
Land use
arable land: 12% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 12% forest and woodland: 40% other: 32%
Location
Central America, between Honduras and Mexico
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
continental shelf: the outer edge of the continental shelf exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle
Note
no natural harbors on west coast
Terrain
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
People and Society
Birth rate
36.19 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
7.74 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Ladino 56% (mestizo - mixed Indian and European ancestry), Indian 44%
Infant mortality rate
55.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
2.5 million by occupation: agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%, construction 4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.8%, mining 0.4% (1985)
Languages
Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63.99 years male: 61.46 years female: 66.65 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 55% male: 63% female: 47%
Nationality
noun: Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan
Net migration rate
-2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
10,446,015 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
2.63% (1993 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan
Total fertility rate
4.9 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative 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
Capital
Guatemala
Chief of State and Head of Government
President Ramiro DE LEON Carpio (since 6 June 1993); Vice President Arturo HERBRUGER (since 18 June 1993)
Congress
last held on 11 November 1990 (next to be held 11 November 1995); results - UCN 25.6%, MAS 24.3%, DCG 17.5%, PAN 17.3%, MLN 4.8%, PSD/AP-5 3.6%, PR 2.1%; seats - (116 total) UCN 38, DCG 27, MAS 18, PAN 12, Pro - Rios Montt 10, MLN 4, PR 1, PSD/AP-5 1, independent 5
Constitution
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986 note: suspended on 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated on 5 June 1993 following ouster of president
Digraph
GT
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose CASO-FANJUL chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 745-4952 through 4954 consulates general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco
Executive branch
president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
FAX
[502] (2) 318855
Flag
three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath
Independence
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Legal system
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica)
Member of
BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala
National holiday
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Other political or pressure groups
Federated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACIF); Mutual Support Group (GAM); Agrarian Owners Group (UNAGRO); Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC); leftist guerrilla movement known as Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union (URNG) has four main factions - Guerrilla army of the Poor (EGP); Revolutionary Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA); Rebel Armed Forces (FAR); Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT/O)
Political parties and leaders
National Centrist Union (UCN), Jorge CARPIO Nicolle; Solidarity Action Movement (MAS), Jorge SERRANO Elias; Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Alfonso CABRERA Hidalgo; National Advancement Party (PAN), Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen; National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario SANDOVAL Alarcon; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario SOLARZANO Martinez; Popular Alliance 5 (AP-5), Max ORLANDO Molina; Revolutionary Party (PR), Carlos CHAVARRIA; National Authentic Center (CAN), Hector MAYORA Dawe; Democratic Institutional Party (PID), Oscar RIVAS; Nationalist United Front (FUN), Gabriel GIRON; Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Efrain RIOS Montt
President
runoff held on 11 January 1991 (next to be held 11 November 1995); results - Jorge SERRANO Elias (MAS) 68.1%, Jorge CARPIO Nicolle (UCN) 31.9% note: President SERRANO resigned on 1 June 1993 shortly after dissolving Congress and the judiciary; on 6 June 1993, Ramiro DE LEON Carpio was chosen as the new president by a vote of Congress; he will finish off the remainder of SERRANO's five-year term which expires in 1995
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn MCAFEE (since 28 May 1993) embassy: 7-01 Avenida de la Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] (2) 31-15-41
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 26% of GDP; most important sector of economy; contributes two-thirds of export earnings; principal crops - sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; livestock - cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens; food importer
Budget
revenues $604 million; expenditures $808 million, including capital expenditures of $134 million (1990 est.)
Currency
1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $1.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.92 billion
Electricity
847,600 kW capacity; 2,500 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
free market quetzales (Q) per US$1 - 5.2850 (December 1993), 5.1706 (1992), 5.0289 (1991), 2.8161 (1989), 2.6196 (1988); note - black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)
Exports
$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: coffee 26%, sugar 13%, bananas 7%, beef 3% partners: US 36%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras
External debt
$2.5 billion (December 1992 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; the government has an active eradication program for cannabis and opium poppy; transit country for cocaine shipments
Imports
$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers, motor vehicles partners: US 40%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany
Industrial production
growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Industries
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
14% (1992 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $12.6 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$1,300 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
4.2% (1992)
Overview
The economy is based on family and corporate agriculture, which accounts for 26% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and supplies two-thirds of exports. Manufacturing, predominantly in private hands, accounts for about 18% of GDP and 12% of the labor force. In both 1990 and 1991, the economy grew by 3%, the fourth and fifth consecutive years of mild growth. In 1992 growth picked up to 4% as government policies favoring competition and foreign trade and investment took stronger hold.
Unemployment rate
6.5% (1991 est.), with 30-40% underemployment
Communications
Airports
total: 474 usable: 418 with permanent-surface runways: 11 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 21
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
Merchant marine
1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,129 GRT/6,450 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil 275 km
Ports
Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Railroads
1,019 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 917 km government owned, 102 km privately owned
Telecommunications
fairly modern network centered in Guatemala [city]; 97,670 telephones; broadcast stations - 91 AM, no FM, 25 TV, 15 shortwave; connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,410,760; fit for military service 1,576,569; reach military age (18) annually 115,178 (1993 est.)