1994 Edition

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

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

Airports

total: 523 usable: 465 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: 20

Area

total area: 108,890 sq km land area: 108,430 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Birth rate

35.42 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Budget

revenues: $604 million (1990) expenditures: $808 million, including capital expenditures of $134 million (1990)

Capital

Guatemala

Climate

tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Coastline

400 km

Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica)

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 note: by agreement of 11 November 1993, a special election is to be held in mid-1994 to elect a new congress

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

Currency

1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos

Death rate

7.53 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)

Digraph

GT

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Edmond MULET Lesseur chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 745-4952 through 4954

Economic aid

recipient: 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

capacity: 847,600 kW production: 2.5 billion kWh consumption per capita: 260 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

Ladino 56% (mestizo - mixed Indian and European ancestry), Indian 44%

Exchange rates

free market quetzales (Q) per US$1 - 5.8542 (January 1994), 5,6354 (1993), 5.1706 (1992), 5.0289 (1991), 4.4858 (1990), 2.8161 (1989); note - black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Ramiro DE LEON Carpio (since 6 June 1993); Vice President Arturo HERBRUGER (since 18 June 1993); election 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 cabinet: Council of Ministers; named by the president

Exports

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamon, beef partners: US 37%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras

External debt

$2.2 billion ( 1992 est.)

FAX

(202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

[502] (2) 31-88-55

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Highways

total: 26,429 km paved: 2,868 km unpaved: gravel 11,421 km; unimproved earth 12,140 km

Illicit drugs

transit country for cocaine shipments; illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; the government has an active eradication program for cannabis and opium poppy

Imports

$2.6 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers, motor vehicles partners: US 45%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Industrial production

growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP

Industries

sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Infant mortality rate

53.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

11.6% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

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

International disputes

maritime border with Belize in dispute; desultory negotiations to resolve the dispute have begun

Irrigated land

780 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)

Labor force

2.5 million by occupation: agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%, construction 4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.7%, mining 0.3% (1985)

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%

Languages

Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)

Legal system

civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 64.42 years male: 61.86 years female: 67.1 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 55% male: 63% female: 47%

Location

Middle America, between Honduras and Mexico

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,491,582; fit for military service 1,629,222; reach military age (18) annually 119,545 (1994 est.)

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

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

Merchant marine

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,129 GRT/6,450 DWT

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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent- $31.3 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$3,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

4% (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun: Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan

Natural resources

petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle

Net migration rate

-2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

no natural harbors on west coast

Other political or pressure groups

Coordinating Comittee of Agricultural, Comercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations (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)

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 almost 5% as government policies favoring competition and foreign trade and investment took stronger hold. In 1993, despite political unrest, this momentum continued, foreign investment held up, and growth was estimated at 4%.

Pipelines

crude oil 275 km

Political parties and leaders

National Centrist Union (UCN), (vacant); Solidarity Action Movement (MAS), Oliverio GARCIA Rodas; 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 Perez; 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

Population

10,721,387 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.58% (1994 est.)

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

Religions

Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala; 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

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

4.76 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate

6.1%; underemployment 30%-40% (1992 est.)

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