Match 100 DB Rec# - 7,552 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Guatemala
Text :
Guatemala
Geography
Location:
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and
bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area:
108,890 sq km
land area:
108,430 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total 1,687 km, Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico
962 km
Coastline:
400 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
border with Belize in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau
(Peten)
Natural resources:
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle
Land use:
arable land:
12%
permanent crops:
4%
meadows and pastures:
12%
forest and woodland:
40%
other:
32%
Irrigated land:
780 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note:
no natural harbors on west coast
People
Population:
10,998,602 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
43% (female 2,324,041; male 2,424,686)
15-64 years:
53% (female 2,939,170; male 2,934,334)
65 years and over:
4% (female 198,807; male 177,564) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.53% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
34.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
7.33 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
52.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
64.85 years
male:
62.27 years
female:
67.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.63 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Guatemalan(s)
adjective:
Guatemalan
Ethnic divisions:
Mestizo - mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (in local Spanish called Ladino)
56%, Amerindian or predominently Amerindian 44%
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan
Languages:
Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (23 Indian dialects, including Quiche,
Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
55%
male:
63%
female:
47%
Labor force:
3.2 million (1994 est.)
by occupation:
agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%, construction
4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.7%, mining 0.3% (1985)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form:
Guatemala
local long form:
Republica de Guatemala
local short form:
Guatemala
Digraph:
GT
Type:
republic
Capital:
Guatemala
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
Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986
note:
suspended 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following
ouster of president
Legal system:
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
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 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 term which expires 14 January 1996
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; named by the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica):
by agreement of 11 November 1993, a special election was held on 14 August
1994 to select 80 new congressmen (next election to be held in November 1995
for full four year terms); results - percent of vote by party; FRG 40%, PAN
31.25%, DCG 15%, UCN 10%, MLN 2.5%, UD 1.25%; seats - (80 total) FRG 32, PAN
25, DCG 12, UCN 8, MLN 2, UD 1
Government
note:
on 11 November 1993 the congress approved a procedure that would reduce its
membership from 116 seats to 80; the procedure provided for a special
election in mid-1994 to elect an interim congress of 80 members to serve
until replaced in a general election in November 1995; the plan was approved
in a general referendum in January 1994 and the special election was held on
14 August 1994
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia); additionally the Court
of Constitutionality is presided over by the President of the Supreme Court
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 SOLORZANO Martinez; Revolutionary Party (PR), Carlos CHAVARRIA
Perez; Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Efrain RIOS Montt; Democratic
Union (UD)
Other political or pressure groups:
Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, 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)
Member of:
BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Edmond MULET
chancery:
2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 745-4952 through 4954
FAX:
[1] (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marilyn McAFEE
embassy:
7-01 Avenida de la Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City
mailing address:
APO AA 34024
telephone:
[502] (2) 311541
FAX:
[502] (2) 318885
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
Economy
Overview:
The economy is based on family and corporate agriculture, which accounts for
25% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and supplies two-thirds of
exports. Manufacturing, predominantly in private hands, accounts for about
15% 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 1993-94, despite
political unrest, this momentum continued, foreign investment held up, and
annual growth was 4%.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $33 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,080 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
4.9%; underemployment 30%-40% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$604 million (1990)
expenditures:
$808 million, including capital expenditures of $134 million (1990)
Exports:
$1.38 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamon, beef
partners:
US 30%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras
Imports:
$2.6 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities:
fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers, motor vehicles
partners:
US 44%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany
External debt:
$2.2 billion ( 1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
700,000 kW
production:
2.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
211 kWh (1993)
Industries:
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals,
rubber, tourism
Agriculture:
accounts for 25% 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
Economy
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
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
Currency:
1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
free market quetzales (Q) per US$1 - 5.7372 (January 1995), 5.7512 (1994),
5,6354 (1993), 5.1706 (1992), 5.0289 (1991), 4.4858 (1990); note -
black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
1,019 km (102 km privately owned)
narrow gauge:
1,019 km 0.914-m gauge (single track)
Highways:
total:
26,429 km
paved:
2,868 km
unpaved:
gravel 11,421 km; unimproved earth 12,140 km
Inland waterways:
260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water
season
Pipelines:
crude oil 275 km
Ports:
Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de
Castilla
Merchant marine:
none
Airports:
total:
528
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
5
with paved runways under 914 m:
360
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
1
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
12
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
146
Communications
Telephone system:
97,670 telephones; fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala
local:
NA
intercity:
NA
international:
connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic
Ocean) earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 91, FM 0, shortwave 15
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
25
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 2,574,501; males fit for military service 1,683,028; males
reach military age (18) annually 123,715 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)
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The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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