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GUATEMAL.CRD
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#CARD:Guatemala:Geography
#WORD 44 70 198 197 0
Guatemala Click Here for Country List
#IMAGE 44 61 TWPCX \maps\GUATEMAL.PCX
Geography Click Here for MAP
Location:
Middle America, between Honduras and Mexico
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones
of the World
Area:
total area:
108,890 sq km
land area:
108,430 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total 1,687 km, Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km,
Mexico 962 km
Coastline:
400 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
the outer edge of the continental shelf
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
maritime border with Belize in dispute; desultory negotiations to
resolve the dispute have begun
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone
plateau (Peten)
Natural resources:
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle
Land use:
arable land:
12%
permanent crops:
4%
meadows and pastures:
12%
forest and woodland:
40%
other:
32%
Irrigated land:
780 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
natural hazards:
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes;
Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms
international agreements:
party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea
Note:
no natural harbors on west coast
#CARD:Guatemala:People
People
Population:
10,721,387 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.58% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
35.42 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
7.53 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
53.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
64.42 years
male:
61.86 years
female:
67.1 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.76 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Guatemalan(s)
adjective:
Guatemalan
Ethnic divisions:
Ladino 56% (mestizo - mixed Indian and European ancestry), Indian 44%
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan
Languages:
Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (18 Indian dialects, including
Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
55%
male:
63%
female:
47%
Labor force:
2.5 million
by occupation:
agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%,
construction 4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.7%, mining 0.3% (1985)
#CARD:Guatemala:Government
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form:
local long form:
Republica de Guatemala
local short form:
Digraph:
GT
Type:
republic
Capital:
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)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986
note:
suspended on 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated on 5 June
1993 following ouster of president
Legal system:
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
President Ramiro DE LEON Carpio (since 6 June 1993); Vice President
Arturo HERBRUGER (since 18 June 1993); election 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%
note:
President SERRANO resigned on 1 June 1993 shortly after dissolving
Congress and the judiciary; on 6 June 1993, Ramiro DE LEON Carpio was
chosen as the new president by a vote of Congress; he will finish off
the remainder of SERRANO's five-year term which expires in 1995
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; named by the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica):
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 38, DCG 27, MAS 18,
PAN 12, Pro-Rios Montt 10, MLN 4, PR 1, PSD/AP-5 1, independent 5
note:
by agreement of 11 November 1993, a special election is to be held in
mid-1994 to elect a new congress
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leaders:
National Centrist Union (UCN), (vacant); Solidarity Action Movement
(MAS), Oliverio GARCIA Rodas; 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 Perez; National Authentic Center (CAN), Hector MAYORA
Dawe; Democratic Institutional Party (PID), Oscar RIVAS; Nationalist
United Front (FUN), Gabriel GIRON; Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG),
Efrain RIOS Montt
Other political or pressure groups:
Coordinating Comittee of Agricultural, Comercial, Industrial, and
Financial Associations (CACIF); Mutual Support Group (GAM); Agrarian
Owners Group (UNAGRO); Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC); leftist
guerrilla movement known as Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union
(URNG) has four main factions - Guerrilla army of the Poor (EGP);
Revolutionary Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA); Rebel Armed
Forces (FAR); Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT/O)
Member of:
BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Edmond MULET Lesseur
chancery:
2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 745-4952 through 4954
FAX:
(202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marilyn McAFEE (since 28 May 1993)
embassy:
7-01 Avenida de la Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City
mailing address:
APO AA 34024
telephone:
[502] (2) 31-15-41
FAX:
[502] (2) 31-88-55
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
#CARD:Guatemala:Economy
Economy
Overview:
The economy is based on family and corporate agriculture, which
accounts for 26% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and
supplies two-thirds of exports. Manufacturing, predominantly in
private hands, accounts for about 18% of GDP and 12% of the labor
force. In both 1990 and 1991, the economy grew by 3%, the fourth and
fifth consecutive years of mild growth. In 1992 growth picked up to
almost 5% as government policies favoring competition and foreign
trade and investment took stronger hold. In 1993, despite political
unrest, this momentum continued, foreign investment held up, and
growth was estimated at 4%.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent- $31.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.6% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
6.1%; underemployment 30%-40% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$604 million (1990)
expenditures:
$808 million, including capital expenditures of $134 million (1990)
Exports:
$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamon, beef
partners:
US 37%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras
Imports:
$2.6 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers, motor
vehicles
partners:
US 45%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany
External debt:
$2.2 billion ( 1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
847,600 kW
production:
2.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
260 kWh (1992)
Industries:
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals,
rubber, tourism
Agriculture:
accounts for 26% of GDP; most important sector of economy; contributes
two-thirds of export earnings; principal crops - sugarcane, corn,
bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; livestock - cattle, sheep, pigs,
chickens; food importer
Illicit drugs:
transit country for cocaine shipments; illicit producer of opium poppy
and cannabis for the international drug trade; the government has an
active eradication program for cannabis and opium poppy
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $1.1 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.92
billion
Currency:
1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
free market quetzales (Q) per US$1 - 5.8542 (January 1994), 5,6354
(1993), 5.1706 (1992), 5.0289 (1991), 4.4858 (1990), 2.8161 (1989);
note - black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
#CARD:Guatemala:Communications
Communications
Railroads:
1,019 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track; 917 km government owned, 102
km privately owned
Highways:
total:
26,429 km
paved:
2,868 km
unpaved:
gravel 11,421 km; unimproved earth 12,140 km
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
Airports:
total:
523
usable:
465
with permanent-surface runways:
11
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
20
Telecommunications:
fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala; 97,670
telephones; broadcast stations - 91 AM, no FM, 25 TV, 15 shortwave;
connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
#CARD:Guatemala:Defense Forces
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 2,491,582; fit for military service 1,629,222; reach
military age (18) annually 119,545 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)
GUATEMAL.0