officially REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA, Spanish REPÚBLICA DE GUATEMALA, third largest country of Central America, covering 42,042 square miles (108,889 square km) in the northwestern corner of the isthmus. It is bordered on the north and west by Mexico; on the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean Sea (at the Gulf of Honduras); on the east by Honduras and El Salvador; and on the south, along its 150-mile (240-kilometre) coastline, by the Pacific Ocean. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 9,197,000.  
 
 
 

Official name:	República de Guatemala (Republic of Guatemala).
Form of government:	republic with one legislative house (Congress of the Republic [80]).
Head of state and government:	President.
Capital:	Guatemala City.
Official language:	Spanish.
Official religion:	none.
Monetary unit:	1 quetzal (Q)=100 centavos; valuation (Oct. 11, 1996) 1 U.S.$=Q 6.07; 1  =Q 9.56.

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Demography 
 
 

Population (1996):	10,928,000.
Density (1996):	persons per sq mi 252.6, persons per sq km 97.5.
Urban-rural (1994):	urban 35.0%; rural 65.0%.
Sex distribution (1994):	male 49.25%; female 50.75%.
Age breakdown (1994):	under 15, 44.0%; 15-29, 26.1%; 30-44, 15.8%; 45-59, 8.3%; 60 and over, 5.8%.
Population projection:	(2000) 12,222,000; (2010) 15,827,000.
Doubling time:	24 years.
Ethnic composition (1994):	Amerindian 42.8%; non-Amerindian 57.2%.
Religious affiliation (1986):	Roman Catholic c. 75%, of which Catholic/traditional syncretist c. 25%; Protestant (mostly fundamentalist) c. 25%.
Major cities (1995):	Guatemala City 1,167,495; Mixco 436,668; Villa Nueva 165,567; Chinautla 61,335; Amatitlan 40,229.

   
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The land. 

Guatemala's most extensive lowland is the Petén portion of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Caribbean (Atlantic) littoral in the north. Highlands comprise about half of the total area and cut across the country's midsection generally southeast to northwest. A narrow Pacific coastal plain stretches the length of the country in the south.  
The Petén is a nearly level limestone (karst) tableland that is mostly covered with rain forests. The Caribbean littoral, which funnels much of Guatemala's eastward drainage--particularly that of the Motagua River--into the Gulf of Honduras, contains Lake Izabal, the country's largest lake. The highland region branches into two broad ranges. The northern and larger Altos Cuchumatanes trend eastward and are characterized by older, well-worn mountains. The southern Sierra Madres trend southeastward and are dominated by 33 volcanic peaks, including Tajumulco, the country's highest mountain (13,845 feet [4,220 m]). The Pacific coastal plain, averaging 30 miles (50 km) in width, is a relatively wet region, containing the numerous short rivers of the country's southward drainage system. (see also Index: Tajumulco Volcano)  

Guatemala is located in the tropic zone, but temperate seas and an irregular terrain provide a diversity of climates. At sea level average annual temperatures range between 77 and 86 F (25 and 30 C). At elevations greater than 6,000 feet (1,800 m), temperatures may be as low as 50 F (10 C). There is a marked dry season from November to April. On the Caribbean coast, where the winds that rise from warm offshore waters blow throughout the year, there is hardly any dry season. In the central region the annual rainfall varies from 80 inches (2,000 mm) in the high plateaus to less than 40 inches (1,000 mm) in the arid section of the eastern part and along the middle section of the Motagua River valley.  

The northern tropical forests of the Petén are rich in fine woods, rubber, and a variety of palms. Vegetation is similar in the Caribbean littoral region, and mangroves are found on the coast. Except for the highest slopes in the volcanic highlands, stands of pine, fir, willow, and oak have been largely destroyed. Wild animals such as the deer and monkey are increasingly rare. Guatemala has deposits of nickel ore, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, and antimony; petroleum reserves are located in the northwest of the country near its border with Mexico.  
 
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The people. 

The population is divided into two principal groups: American Indians and Ladinos. The Mayan Indians compose about 55 percent of the population and live primarily in the western highlands. Ladinos, comprising about 42 percent of the total, are mostly of mixed Hispanic-Indian origin. There are a few whites and blacks. Slavery was abolished in 1824, and the freed black slaves soon mixed with the Indian and Spanish population; called Black Caribs, they mostly live in the Caribbean lowlands. Guatemala's official language is Spanish, but approximately 20 Indian languages are also spoken. There is no established church, but the prevailing form of religion is Roman Catholicism. There are a few Protestants and Jews.  
About two-thirds of the total population is rural. The most densely populated areas are Guatemala City and its environs in the highland plain and the western part of the south coast. The country's birth and death rates are high, like those of other Central American countries. The annual rate of population growth is one of the highest in Latin America.  
 
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Cultural life. 

Guatemala belongs culturally to the Hispanic-American world, but the presence of the Indian has given the country's culture a distinct accent of its own. Two of the country's greatest writers, Mario Monteforte Toledo and Nobel Prize winner Miguel Ángel Asturias, addressed the place of the Indian in national life. Many of Guatemala's painters and sculptors have been influenced by the Mexican muralist school. Indian art--in particular, handwoven textiles, pottery, clay, and wood carvings--is of high quality. Traditional dances, music, religious rites, and games have survived in the Indian regions.  
 
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