]! ^! The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees. 
]" ^" Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize ^# 15 30 N, 90 15 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 108,890 sq km `" 108,430 sq km `# 460 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Tennessee ^' `! 1,687 km `Y Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km ^( 400 km ^) `$ 12 nm `N 200 nm `O 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation ^* tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands ^+ mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m ^- petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower ^. `' 13.22% `( 5.6% `) 81.18% (2005) ^/ 1,300 sq km (2003) ^0 numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms ^1 deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution _P `P Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 no natural harbors on west coast 
]# ^3 12,728,111 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 40.8% (male 2,641,179/female 2,556,397) `, 55.5% (male 3,426,376/female 3,642,157) `- 3.6% (male 213,801/female 248,201) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.9 years `. 18.3 years `/ 19.5 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.152% (2007 est.) ^7 29.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.033 male(s)/female `, 0.941 male(s)/female `- 0.861 male(s)/female `2 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 29.77 deaths/1,000 live births `. 32.26 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 27.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 69.69 years `. 67.94 years `/ 71.52 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 1.1% (2003 est.) ^? 78,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 5,800 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Guatemalan(s) `4 Guatemalan ^B Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) 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 census) ^C Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs ^D Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 70.6% `. 78% `/ 63.3% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Guatemala `7 Guatemala `Z Republica de Guatemala `[ Guatemala ^H constitutional democratic republic ^I `8 Guatemala `9 14 38 N, 90 31 W `: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Friday in September; note - there is no DST planned for 2007-2009 ^J 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 ^K 15 September 1821 (from Spain) ^L Independence Day, 15 September (1821) ^M 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President Jorge SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993 ^N civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day ^P `; President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president `> president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 9 November 2003; runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held September 2007) `? Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo 54.1%, Alvarado COLOM 45.9% ^Q unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `> last held 9 November 2003 (next to be held in September 2007) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18 `* in the 2003 election, the number of congressional seats increased from 113 to 158 ^R Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms) ^S Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Edgar DE LEON Sotomayor]; Center of Social Action or CASA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democracy Front or FRENTE [Alfonso CABRERA]; Democratic Union or UD [Manuel CONDE Orellana]; Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENGRO]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Alfredo VILLA]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector NUILA]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Ruben Dario MORALES]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Alvaro COLOM Caballeros]; National Well-Being or BIEN [Fidel REYES]; New Nation Alliance or ANN [Pablo MONSANTO]; Patriot Party or PP [Ret. Gen. Otto PEREZ Molina]; Progressive Libertarian Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES]; Reform Movement or MR [Juan Jose CABRERA Alonso]; Unionista Party or PU [Fritz GARCIA]; Unity of National Change or UCN [Sidney SHAW]; Social Democratic Party of Guatemala or PSG [Roger VALENZUELA] ^T Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; Mutual Support Group or GAM ^U BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Guillermo CASTILLO `S 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 745-4952 `U [1] (202) 745-1908 `V Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Providence, San Francisco ^W `R Ambassador James M. DERHAM `_ 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City `` APO AA 34024 `T [502] 2326-4000 `U [502] 2326-4654 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. On 1 July 2006, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered in to force between the US and Guatemala. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit. Remittances from a large expatriate community that moved to the United States during the war have become the primary source of foreign income, exceeding the total value of exports and tourism combined. ^Z $60.57 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $35.25 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 4.6% (2006 est.) ^] $4,900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 22.1% `A 19.1% `B 58.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 5.02 million (2005 est.) ^` `@ 50% `A 15% `B 35% (1999 est.) ^a 3.2% (2005 est.) _! 56.2% (2004 est.) _" `C 1.6% `D 46% (1998) _d 59.9 (2005) _# 5.8% (2006) _V 15.5% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $3.84 billion `F $4.431 billion; including capital expenditures of $750 million (2006 est.) _% 18.6% of GDP (2006 est.) _& sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens _' sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism _( 3.6% (2006 est.) _) 7.2 billion kWh (2005) _* 6.625 billion kWh (2005) _+ 335 million kWh (2005) _, 23 million kWh (2005) _- 16,370 bbl/day (2006 est.) _. 73,510 bbl/day (2006 est.) _/ 15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.) _0 72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.) _W 263 million bbl (1 January 2002) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 3.087 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $-1.533 billion (2006 est.) _3 $3.71 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom _5 US 50.1%, El Salvador 12.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4% (2005) _6 $9.911 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity _8 US 38.1%, Mexico 7.6%, El Salvador 4.8%, South Korea 4.8%, Panama 4.4% (2005) _[ $4.061 billion (2006 est.) _9 $3.908 billion (2006 est.) _: $250 million (2000 est.) _; quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed _< quetzales per US dollar - 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 1.132 million (2004) _? 3.168 million (2004) _@ `G fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala `H NA `I country code - 502; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) _B 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) _C .gt _D 49,026 (2006) _E 756,000 (2005) 
]' _F 450 (2006) _G `! 11 `J 3 `b 2 `c 4 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 439 `J 1 `b 8 `c 111 `W 319 (2006) _^ oil 480 km (2006) _e `! 886 km `n 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2005) _H `! 14,095 km `K 4,863 km (includes 75 km of expressways) `L 9,232 km (1999) _b 990 km `* 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2004) _I Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla 
]( _J Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force _T all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 are liable for military service; conscript service obligation varies from 12 to 24 months (2005) _K males age 18-49: 2,429,033 females age 18-49: 2,503,482 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,911,412 females age 18-49: 2,070,806 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 134,032 females age 18-49: 130,641 (2005 est.) _U 0.5% (2006 est.) 
]) _N annual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiated Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in Belize and the Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created under the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests of Belize's border region; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States _c `k undetermined (estimates vary from none to 1 million displaced from government's scorched-earth offensive in 1980s against indigenous people) (2006) _O major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2005, cultivated 100 hectares of opium poppy after reemerging as a potential source of opium in 2004; potential production of less than 1 metric ton of pure heroin; marijuana cultivation for mostly domestic consumption; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (particularly for cocaine); money laundering is a serious problem; corruption is a major problem 