Country Information
Area: 42,042 square miles, roughly the size of Ohio
Capital: Guatemala City (population: 2.5 million, including surrounding area)
Natural Resources: Petroleum, nickel, rare wood, fish, chicle, hydro power
Exports: Coffee, sugar, bananas, cotton, beef, cardamom, and non-traditional crops like cauliflower, snow peas, strawberries, exotic flowers and ferns
Topography and Climate
Guatemala’s topography is very diverse and includes tropical rainforests, mountains, valleys, more than 30 volcanoes, lowland forests and beaches. In the highlands the average high temperature is 77°F. The northern and western regions are much warmer year-round. The dry season is from October to early May and the rainy season is from late May until the end of September.
The People
Population: 14.5 million; 46% Urban, 54% Rural
Ethnicity: 44% Indigenous (primarily Mayan), 56% Ladino/Mestizo
Language: Spanish (official), 21 Mayan languages
Religion: 76% Catholic, 24% Protestant
Land Distribution
Land ownership and distribution in Guatemala is one of the most unequal in the hemisphere: 2% of landowners hold 65% of the arable land; 78% of the farms use only 10% of the farm land. Agriculture constitutes the single largest employer in Guatemala, with more than half of the economically active population—some 1.9 million people—working in this sector.
Education
28% of children do not make it to the 5th grade
39.5% of people begin a secondary education
96% of students who register for university never graduate
Guatemala City takes 70% of a very small education budget. As a result, Guatemala has 75% rural illiteracy,
the worst record in Latin America.
Health
Malnutrition: 45% of all children are malnourished
Health Services: There is 1 doctor for every 1,025 people
Economy
National debt: $5.969 billion
Average minimum wage: $4.90/day (rural areas $2.50/day)
Unemployment rate: Officially it is 7.5% (many say it is more than double that)
Poverty: 16% of Guatemalans live in extreme poverty (according to UN guidelines of earning less than $1/day); 75% of Guatemalans live below the country’s poverty line
There are 95 TV sets, 47 cars, 200 telephones, and 9.7 PCs per 1,000 Guatemalans
Human Rights
Over the past four decades state-sponsored terror left 200,000 people dead (including 50,000 disappeared), which is 2% of the entire population; 1 million people or 10% of the population displaced; 200,000 orphans and 40,000 widows. According to the Truth Commission, the army was responsible for 626 massacres and 93% of the documented violations. The guerrillas committed 3% of the violations, including 32 massacres.
Primary Source: UNICEF, www.unicef.org
