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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

Central & South America Country Report: Guatemala

Josh Hivner

Geography 1201-100

28 January 2020
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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

Guatemala is located in Central America between Mexico and El Salvador. On its south

western side, it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and on its north eastern side it is bordered by the

Caribbean Sea. Guatemala is a very diverse country geographically, containing many different

terrains, such as: lowlands, coastline, and mountainous highlands. According to the CIA report,

around 41% of Guatemala is used for agriculture, and about 36% is forested. Guatemala also has

volcanoes. Guatemala has a tropical climate; typically, hot and humid but cooler temperatures

can be found in the highlands. A significant place in Guatemalan history is the ancient Mayan

city of Tikal which was rediscovered in 1848 by a team of explorers (Wilkins, 2018). It is

located in the northern rainforests of Petén. Another important place is El Mirador which was

once the largest Mayan settlement before it was abandoned (Wilkins, 2018). El Mirador is also

located in the rainforest. These two ancient Mayan settlements are truly advanced for their time

and amazing in their design. There is believed to have been some major change that resulted in

the fall of the Mayan empire. There is some evidence to prove their might have been a drought

resulting from a slight climate change, and even a drought could throw the rhythm of this very

delicate society off.

Guatemala’s total population is around 17 million people. The average age in Guatemala

is around twenty-three which is relatively low. The total population literacy rate is 81.5 percent.

The life expectancy from birth is around 72 years. The infant mortality rate is .022 percent.

Around 51 percent of Guatemala’s population is urban. Most of the population lives in the

southern half of the country. Guatemala’s HDI is .65 which has increased drastically in recent

years, as stated in an article by the United Nations Development Programme.

Guatemala used to be in a very bad political situation, but recently things have gotten

better for the Guatemalan people politically. Guatemala was in civil war for thirty six years,
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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

ending in 1996 allowing the country to begin to stabilize again. The current form of government

in power is a presidential republic. There are many different political parties that run for office,

but some are not very popular and tend to not be around very long. The current president and

vice president are from different political parties, VAMOS and VIVA respectively, which I find

very interesting. There is some freedom of press, but reporters face harassment and many other

challenges when they publish information about certain groups or people. For example, when

reporting is done on drug cartels or gangs, the journalists receive threats, they are harassed, and

sometimes they are even murdered. These intimidation factors act as a deterrent to those who are

attempting to report the truth to the public. There is also some government censorship as well

(Censorship, 2019). The government is still dealing with corruption issues, but the current

democracy is a step in the right direction from Guatemala’s previous state of civil war and

military control. Guatemala’s GDP for 2017 was 75.62 billion dollars (The, 2018). Sadly, over

half of Guatemala’s population lives in poverty, and nearly a quarter of their population is in

extreme poverty. Over fifty percent of Guatemala’s wealth is spread between the top twenty

percent of their population. The CFTA – DR (Dominican Republic- Central America Free Trade

Agreement) was established in 2006 to help regulate trade (The, 2018). According to an article

by the CIA, Guatemala’s main exports are sugar, coffee, petroleum, fruits, vegetables, and

precious stones, and metals. Guatemala imports fuel, machinery, transport equipment,

construction materials, mineral products, and chemical products.

The main religions in Guatemala currently are Roman Catholic, Protestant, and

indigenous Mayan, according to the CIA report. There is some religious conflict going on right

now within Guatemala, although it is not necessarily two religions conflicting. The Scalabrinians

(Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles) run an organization called Casa del
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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

Migrante, which provides refuge to immigrants, but they are receiving threats for doing these

things which they believe in religiously (A, 2020). The official language of Guatemala is

Spanish, but many Mayan languages are still spoken.

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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

(The, 2018)
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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

(The, 2018)
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Running head: COUNTRY REPORT: GUATEMALA

A church shelter in Guatemala is threatened for assisting Central American migrants. (2020, January

27). Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-

society/2020/01/27/church-shelter-guatemala-threatened-assisting-central-american-migrants

Censorship in Guatemala. (2019, September 2). Retrieved January 28, 2020, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Guatemala

The World Factbook: Guatemala. (2018, February 1). Retrieved January 28, 2020, from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html

Wilkins, C. (2018, July 20). 7 Fascinating Historic Sites to See in Guatemala. Retrieved January 28,

2020, from https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/central-america/guatemala/top-historic-sites-

to-see-in-guatemala

UNDP. (2018) Human Development Indices and Indicators: 2018 Statistical Update. Retrieved

January 28, 2020, from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/GTM.pdf