Population Geography

Politics Economy

This is how we are, Be very welcome!

Population

We are approximately 12 million people, with great ethnic diversity: :
- 22 Mayan groups (majority of the Guatemalan population).
- Mestizos or Crossbred: They are the result of the biological and cultural crossbreeding between natives and Europeans. .
- Garifunas: An Afro-Antillean race.
The Guatemalan population is young; 44% are under 14 years old, and 65% are under 25 years of age. The country has one of the most stable proportions of rural population

The official language is Spanish, but there are also more than 23 native dialects, for example: Quiché, Cakchiquel, Mam, and Kekchi. In almost all the touristic areas, people speak English

Guatemalan legislation guarantees freedom of creed. The most popular religion is Catholicism, which is professed by 65% of the population, 25% profess Protestantism; and in many native communities pre-Columbian rituals and cults of the Mayan culture prevail.

Geography

To learn more

Location

Orography

Hydrography

Weather

• Location
  Guatemala has an extension of 108,899 Km2 (Cuba has a similar extension), and it is located in Central America, the strait strip that links both American continental masses, and separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific Ocean. Guatemala is the geographical center of the American Continent, and our neighbors are: México and Belize at the North East, El Salvador and Honduras at the South East..
  
  
• Orography
  Almost two-thirds of the country is occupied by mountains and volcanoes. Two mountainous systems cross the country: the most important is Sierra Madre, which is 260 km2 and parallel to the Pacific coast. This range protects the cities of Guatemala, Antigua, Sololá, Santa Cruz del Quiché, and Chimaltenango. There are 33 volcanoes, 3 of them still active. The highest summit is Tajumulco volcano, which is 4,211 meters above sea level. There is a calcareous plateau in Petén, the northern most department (state) of the country, and small plains in the coasts. Guatemala has beaches of volcanic sand, both in the Pacific coast and in the Caribbean coast. Our landscape is also filled with several Karts, which are a mixture of cave, underground rivers, spring water and small hills.
  
  
• Hydrography
  In Guatemala, 2,500 km2 of the 108,899 km2 of the country extension are rivers and lakes. Río Dulce is the most outstanding of the Guatemalan rivers. It springs up from Lake Izabal and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. You will also be able to find several volcanic lakes, such as Lake Izabal, which is the largest lake in Guatemala, with a span of 389 km2, and which hosts a rich fauna and fishing opportunities. Other important lakes are Atitlán with 126 km2; Petén Itzá, and Amatitlán. Guija Lagoon and Ayarza Lagoon can also be named as important water masses. There are several underground caves with stalactites and stalagmites, and other very singular rocky structures. Underground rivers cross some of these caverns. Guatemala has a border coast to the East of 148 km2 in the Caribbean Sea and another of 254 km2 in the Pacific Ocean
  
  
• Weather
  In Guatemala there are 300 microclimates and two seasons.a dry season and a rainy season.

The altitud is what distinguishes the difference climatic zones. We have these three:.
Zones		Altitud		Temperature		Localization
Hot lands		Up to 600 or 700 meters		Between 25º and 32ºC		In the coast plains and in the pluvial valleys mostly in the Atlantic
Warm lands		Between 700 and 1.800 meters		Between 18º and 25ºC		In the altiplano
Cold lands		Above the 1.899 meters		Between 15º and 25ºC.And it varies during daylight through the year		In the highest mountain.

Precipitations are more intense in the Atlantic part that in the Pacific one, rainy season goes from May to October, but in some regions as in the Verapaces and in the North of Peten, the rain maintaince through out the year.

Politics

The Republic of Guatemala has a representative democracy, whose president is elected for a period of four years (which cannot be extended by reelection). The country is divided in 22 territorial divisions, and these are subdivided altogether in 331 boroughs. Guatemalan territorial divisions are: Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Petén, Quetzaltenango, Quiché, Retalhuleu, Sacatepéquez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Sololá, Suchitepéquez, Totonicapán, and Zacapa .

Economy

Coffee provides the highest revenue in the Guatemalan economy. Tourism has become the second financial resource for the country. Nevertheless, agriculture is still the most important field. Sugar, bananas, flowers, macadamia nuts, cardamom, beans, corn and some others goods are exported. Guatemalan natural resources are, among others, coffee, petroleum, nickel, precious woods, fish, chicle [resin used in the manufacture of chewing gum], and hydroelectric power. Plus, sugar, textiles, clothes, tobacco, electronic products, chemical products, petroleum, metals, rubber, and furniture industries are also very developed. Our highest commercial partners are: The United States of America, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and México.