*Guatemala, Geography

Location:
  Central America, between Honduras and Mexico
Map references:
  Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the
  World
Area:
 total area:
  108,890 km2
 land area:
  108,430 km2
 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:
  the outer edge of the continental shelf
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  border with Belize in dispute; negotiations to resolve the dispute have
  begun
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 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes;
  Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms;
  deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Note:
  no natural harbors on west coast

*Guatemala, People

Population:
  10,446,015 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.63% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  36.19 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  7.74 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  55.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  63.99 years
 male:
  61.46 years
 female:
  66.65 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  4.9 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Guatemalan(s)
 adjective:
  Guatemalan
Ethnic divisions:
  Ladino 56% (mestizo - mixed Indian and European ancestry), Indian 44%
Religions:
  Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan
Languages:
  Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche,
  Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  55%
 male:
  63%
 female:
  47%
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)

*Guatemala, 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)
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
Legal system:
  civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
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
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)
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 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

*Guatemala, Government

 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
Executive branch:
  president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  President Ramiro DE LEON Carpio (since 6 June 1993); Vice President Arturo
  HERBRUGER (since 18 June 1993)
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
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
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
 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

*Guatemala, Economy

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.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $12.6 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  4.2% (1992)
National product per capita:
  $1,300 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  14% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  6.5% (1991 est.), with 30-40% underemployment
Budget:
  revenues $604 million; expenditures $808 million, including capital
  expenditures of $134 million (1990 est.)
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
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
External debt:
  $2.5 billion (December 1992 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Electricity:
  847,600 kW capacity; 2,500 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
  sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals,
  rubber, tourism
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
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
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
Currency:
  1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos

*Guatemala, Economy

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)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Guatemala, Communications

Railroads:
  1,019 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 917 km government owned, 102 km
  privately owned
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
Pipelines:
  crude oil 275 km
Ports:
  Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Merchant marine:
  1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,129 GRT/6,450 DWT
Airports:
 total:
  474
 usable:
  418
 with permanent-surface runways:
  11
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  3
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  21
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

*Guatemala, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force
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.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)