Guatemala

Republic of Guatemala
República de Guatemala  (Spanish)
Motto: Libre crezca fecundo (Spanish)
"Grow Free and Fecund"
Anthem: 
Himno Nacional de Guatemala
"National Anthem of Guatemala"

March:
La Granadera
"The Grenadier"
Capital
and largest city
Guatemala City
14°38′N 90°30′W / 14.633°N 90.500°W / 14.633; -90.500
Official languagesSpanish
Recognised national languagesMayan
Recognised regional languages
Ethnic groups
(2018)
Religion
(2023)
  • 11% no religion
  • 0.9% other
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
• President
Bernardo Arévalo
Karin Herrera
Luis Contreras
LegislatureCongress of the Republic
Independence
• Declared
from the Spanish Empire
15 September 1821
• Declared from the
First Mexican Empire
1 July 1823
• Declared from the Federal Republic of Central America
17 April 1839
• Current constitution
17 November 1993
Area
• Total
108,889 km2 (42,042 sq mi) (105th)
• Water (%)
0.4
Population
• 2025 estimate
Neutral increase 18,636,532 (70th)
• Density
166/km2 (429.9/sq mi) (76th)
GDP (PPP)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $278.508 billion (77th)
• Per capita
Increase $15,386 (121nd)
GDP (nominal)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $120.964 billion (70th)
• Per capita
Increase $6,682 (108th)
Gini (2023)Positive decrease 45.2
medium
HDI (2023)Increase 0.662
medium · 137th
CurrencyQuetzal (GTQ)
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+502
ISO 3166 codeGT
Internet TLD.gt

Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. To the northeast is the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Honduras and its capital and largest city is Guatemala City.

Population

Guatemala has the largest population in Central America. More than fourteen million people live in the 22 Guatemalan departments. Most of the population is made up of mestizo (mixed race) people, who are a combination of Native and European people. Mestizo are 40% of the population. Native Mayan people are 49% of the population, while 9% are direct descendants of Spanish and German people. Black people are 2% of the population.

History

The capital was moved several times because of natural disasters. The first city was destroyed when the volcano Volcan de Agua erupted, forcing the move to what today is called Antigua Guatemala. This city was destroyed by earthquakes. Finally, the capital was moved to Guatemala City.


Photo

Notes

  1. ↑ /ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ (listenⓘ) GWAH-tə-MAH-lə; es; Kekchí: Watemaal, Kaqchikel and K'iche': Iximulew, Mam: Twitz Paxil
  2. ↑ República de Guatemala es

References

  1. ↑ Banco de Guatemala 1996.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Guatemala". The World Factbook (2026 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2026-01-03. (Archived 2023 edition)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Guatemala)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Gini index - Guatemala". World Bank Open Data. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
  6. ↑ "Human Development Report 2025" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 6 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.

Other websites

Media related to Guatemala at Wikimedia Commons