The northernmost of the Central American nations, Guatemala is the size of Tennessee. Its neighbors are Mexico on the north and west, and Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador on the east. The country consists of three main regions—the cool highlands with the heaviest population, the tropical area along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and the tropical jungle in the northern lowlands (known as the Petén).
Population
12,293,545 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 29.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 30.9/1000; life expectancy: 69.4; density per sq mi: 294
Land Area
41,865 sq mi (108,430 sq km); total area: 42,042 sq mi (108,890 sq km)
Monetary unit
Quetzal Language
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Ethnicity Mestizo (Ladino)—mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry—and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001)
Religion Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs
Transportation Railways: total: 886 km (2004). Highways: total: 14,118 km; paved: 4,871 km (including 74 km of expressways); unpaved: 9,247 km (1999). Waterways: 990 km; note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2004). Ports and harbors: Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla. Airports: 452 (2004 est.).
