_#_Disputes: claims Belize, but boundary negotiations to resolve the
dispute are underway
_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling
limestone plateau (Peten)
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle
_#_Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and
pastures 12%; forest and woodland 40%; other 32%; includes
irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent
violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other
tropical storms; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
_#_Note: no natural harbors on west coast
_*_People
_#_Population: 9,266,018 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 35 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 58 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 66 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Guatemalan(s); adjective--Guatemalan
_#_Ethnic divisions: Ladino (mestizo--mixed Indian and European
ancestry) 56%, Indian 44%
_#_Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant,
traditional Mayan
_#_Language: Spanish, but over 40% of the population speaks an Indian
language as a primary tongue (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche,
Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
_#_Literacy: 55% (male 63%, female 47%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,500,000; agriculture 60%, services 13%,
manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%, construction 4%, transport 3%,
utilities 0.8%, mining 0.4% (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 8% of labor force (1988 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Guatemala
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Guatemala
_#_Administrative divisions: 22 departments (departamentos,
singular--departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango,
Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal,
Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu,
Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez,
Totonicapan, Zacapa
_#_Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
_#_Constitution: 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986
_#_Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative
acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic
(Congreso de la Republica)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
Justicia)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jorge SERRANO
Elias (since 14 January 1991); Vice President Gustavo ESPINA Salguero
(since 14 January 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
National Centrist Union (UCN), Jorge CARPIO Nicolle;
Solidarity Action Movement (MAS), Jorge SERRANO Elias;
Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Alfonso CABRERA Hidalgo;
National Advancement Party (PAN), Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen;
National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario SANDOVAL Alarcon;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario SOLARZANO Martinez;
Popular Alliance 5 (AP-5), Max ORLANDO Molina;
Revolutionary Party (PR), Carlos CHAVARRIA;
National Authentic Center (CAN), Hector MAYORA Dawe;
Alliance for '90 led by Rios MONTT, consisting of three
parties--Democratic Institutional Party (PID), Oscar RIVAS;
Nationalist United Front (FUN), Gabriel GIRON;
Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Berna ROLANDO Mendez
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--runoff held on 11 January 1991 (next to be held
11 November 1995);
results--Jorge SERRANO Elias (MAS) 68.1%, Jorge CARPIO
Nicolle (UCN) 31.9%;
Congress--last held on 11 November 1990 (next to be held
11 November 1995);
results--UCN 25.6%, MAS 24.3%, DCG 17.5%, PAN 17.3%, MLN 4.8%,
PSD/AP-5 3.6%, PR 2.1%;
seats--(116 total) UCN 41, DCG 28, MAS 18, PAN 12, Alliance for '90
11, MLN 4, PR 1, PSD/AP-5 1
_#_Communists: Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT); main radical left
guerrilla groups--Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), Revolutionary
Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), Rebel Armed Forces (FAR),
and PGT dissidents
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Federated Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (CACIF), Mutual Support Group (GAM), Unity for Popular and
Labor Action (UASP), Agrarian Owners Group (UNAGRO), Committee for
Campesino Unity (CUC)
_#_Member of: BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Juan Jose CASO Fanjul;
Chancery at 2220 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
745-4952 through 4954;
there are Guatemalan Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Thomas F. STROOCK; Embassy at 7-01 Avenida de la
Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City (mailing address is APO Miami 34024);
telephone [502] (2) 31-15-41
_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side),
white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white
band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national
bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE
SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain)
all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed
swords and framed by a wreath
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for
26% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and supplies two-thirds
of exports. Manufacturing accounts for about 15% of GDP and 12% of the
labor force. In 1990 the economy grew by 3.5%, the fourth consecutive
year of mild growth. Government economic policies, however, were erratic
in 1990--an election year--and inflation shot up to 60%, the highest
level in modern times.
_#_GDP: $11.1 billion, per capita $1,180; real growth rate 3.5%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 60% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 13%, with 30-40% underemployment (1989 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.05 billion; expenditures $1.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $270 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $1.24 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--coffee 24%, sugar 9%, bananas 8%, beef 4%;
partners--US 28%, El Salvador, FRG, Costa Rica, Italy
_#_Imports: $1.77 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain,
fertilizers, motor vehicles;
partners--US 40%, Mexico, FRG, Japan, El Salvador
_#_External debt: $2.8 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 4.0% (1988); accounts
for 18% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 819,000 kW capacity; 2,594 million kWh produced,
280 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals,
petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GDP; most important sector of
economy and contributes two-thirds to export earnings; principal
crops--sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom;
livestock--cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens; food importer
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the
international drug trade; the government has engaged in aerial
eradication of opium poppy; transit country for cocaine shipments
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $1.1
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $7.8 billion
_#_Currency: quetzal (plural--quetzales); 1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: free market quetzales (Q) per US$1--5.4
(April 1991), 4.4858 (1990), 2.8161 (1989), 2.6196 (1988), 2.500
(1987), 1.875 (1986), 1.000 (1985); note--black-market rate 2.800
(May 1989)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 870 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 780 km
government owned, 90 km privately owned
_#_Highways: 26,429 km total; 2,868 km paved, 11,421 km gravel,
and 12,140 unimproved
_#_Inland waterways: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km
navigable during high-water season
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 275 km
_#_Ports: Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla
_#_Merchant marine: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
4,129 GRT/6,450 DWT
_#_Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 430 total, 381 usable; 11 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: fairly modern network centered in Guatemala
[city]; 97,670 telephones; stations--91 AM, no FM, 25 TV, 15 shortwave;
connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,097,234; 1,372,623 fit for
military service; 110,949 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $113 million, 1% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Guernsey
(British crown dependency)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 194 km2; land area: 194 km2; includes Alderney,
Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 50 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;