Guam (2002) | Guatemala (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.1% (male 29,706; female 26,813)
15-64 years: 58.6% (male 49,457; female 44,697) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 5,070; female 5,053) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.8% (male 2,641,179/female 2,556,397)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 3,426,376/female 3,642,157) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 213,801/female 248,201) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
Airports | 5 (2001) | 402 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 390
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 301 (2007) |
Area | total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 108,890 sq km
land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Tennessee |
Background | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. | 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. |
Birth rate | 24.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 29.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $431 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.847 billion
expenditures: $4.435 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | name: Guatemala
geographic coordinates: 14 37 N, 90 31 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Friday in September; note - there is no DST planned for 2007-2009 |
Climate | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 400 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.175 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador James M. DERHAM
embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] 2326-4000 FAX: [502] 2326-4654 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Guillermo CASTILLO
chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Providence, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam | $253.6 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 767.25 million kWh (2000) | 6.361 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 339 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 23 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 825 million kWh (2000) | 7.281 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species | deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% | 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) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | quetzales per US dollar - 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
chief of state: 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
head of government: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14 January 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 9 September 2007; runoff held 4 November 2007 (next to be held September 2011) election results: Alvaro COLOM Caballeros elected president; percent of vote - Alvaro COLOM Caballeros 52.8%, Otto PEREZ Molina 47.2%; note - COLOM will take office 14 January 2008 |
Exports | $75.7 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) | 15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom |
Exports - partners | US 25% | US 44.6%, El Salvador 11.9%, Honduras 7.2%, Mexico 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% (1993) |
agriculture: 22.2%
industry: 19.1% services: 58.7% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 15 30 N, 90 15 W |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | no natural harbors on west coast |
Highways | total: 885 km
paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 |
Imports | $203 million f.o.b. (1999 est.) | 72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
Imports - partners | US 23%, Japan 19% | US 33.3%, Mexico 8.8%, China 6.5%, El Salvador 5.3%, South Korea 4.9% (2006) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.6% (2006 est.) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 6.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 29.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 6.6% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | 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), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 20 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) | 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) |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 3.86 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) | agriculture: 50%
industry: 15% services: 35% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.91%
permanent crops: 10.91% other: 78.18% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.22%
permanent crops: 5.6% other: 81.18% (2005) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 5 November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 November 2003 (next to be held in September 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18 note: in the 2003 election, the number of congressional seats increased from 113 to 158 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.11 years
male: 75.81 years female: 80.72 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.69 years
male: 67.94 years female: 71.52 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.1% male: 75.4% female: 63.3% (2002 census) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.4% (2006) |
National holiday | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
noun: Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 480 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (party of Governor GUTIERREZ) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 |
Population | 160,796 (July 2002 est.) | 12,728,111 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (2001 est.) | 56.2% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.99% (2002 est.) | 2.152% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) |
Radios | 221,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 886 km
narrow gauge: 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.033 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.941 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.861 male(s)/female total population: 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 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 |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
general assessment: fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala
domestic: state-owned telecommunications company privatized in the late 1990s opening the way for competition; fixed-line teledensity 11 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity approaching 60 per 100 persons international: country code - 502; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the SAM-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 84,134 (1998) | 1.355 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,000 (1998) | 7.179 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.73 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2007) |