Guatemala

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Guatemala (disambiguation).

Guatemala,^[a] officially the Republic of Guatemala,^[b] is a country in Central America. It borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. It also next to the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Honduras northeast.

Republic of Guatemala República de Guatemala  (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Libre crezca fecundo[1] (Spanish) "Grow Free and Fecund"
Anthem:  Himno Nacional de Guatemala (English: "National Anthem of Guatemala")
March: La Granadera (English: "The Song of the Grenadier")
Location in the Western Hemisphere Guatemala and its neighbors
Capital and largest city	Guatemala City 14°38′N 90°30′W
Official languages	Spanish
Recognised national languages	Mayan
Recognised regional languages	Garifuna Xinca
Ethnic groups (2018)[2]	56.01% Ladino (mixed) 41.66% Maya 1.77% Xinca 0.19% Black 0.13% Garifuna 0.24% Other
Religion (2017)[3]	88% Christianity 45% Catholicism 42% Protestantism 1% other Christian 11% no religion 1% other
Demonym(s)	Guatemalan Chapín Guatemalteco (M) Guatemalteca (F)
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Bernardo Arévalo
• Vice President	Karin Herrera
• President of the Congress	Nery Ramos
Legislature	Congress 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	21 March 1847
Area
• Total	108,889 km2 (42,042 sq mi) (105th)
• Water (%)	0.4
Population
• 2023 estimate	17,980,803[4] (70th)
• Density	166/km2 (429.9/sq mi) (80th)
GDP (PPP)	2025 estimate
• Total	$278.508 billion[5] (77th)
• Per capita	$15,386[5] (121nd)
GDP (nominal)	2025 estimate
• Total	$120.964 billion[5] (70th)
• Per capita	$6,682[5] (108th)
Gini (2023)	45.2[6] medium
HDI (2023)	0.662[7] medium · 137th
Currency	Quetzal (GTQ)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+502
ISO 3166 code	GT
Internet TLD	.gt

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.

• Guatemala
• 
  Guatemala City
• 
  Zacapa
• 
  Tikal
• 
  Flores
• 
  Solola
• 
  Antigua

Photo

• Guatemala Map
• Guatemala photos

Related pages

• Guatemala at the Olympics
• Guatemala national football team
• List of rivers of Guatemala