GUATEMALA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 108,890 km2; land area: 108,430 km2 Comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee Land boundaries: 1,687 km total; Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km Coastline: 400 km Maritime claims: Continental shelf: not specific; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm 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)