Guatemala (2001) | Montenegro (2006) | |
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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 | 21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevia, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgornica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.11% (male 2,789,189; female 2,674,747) 15-64 years: 54.25% (male 3,518,209; female 3,519,851) 65 years and over: 3.64% (male 220,640; female 251,725) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 477 (2000 est.) | 5 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
466 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 124 under 914 m: 332 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
108,890 sq km land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule 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 led to the death of more than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries it was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocratic state ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and, at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. Following a three-year postponement, Montenegro held an independence referendum in the spring of 2006 under rules set by the EU. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded the 55% threshold, allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 34.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2004) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.2 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Guatemala | name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 400 km | 293.5 km |
Constitution | 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993 | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Guatemala conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala |
conventional long form: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Currency | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed | - |
Death rate | 6.79 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Prudence BUSHNELL embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] 331-1541/55 FAX: [502] 334-8477 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ariel RIVERA Irias chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC |
Disputes - international | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro |
Economic aid - recipient | $212 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. Former President ARZU (1996-2000) worked to implement a program of economic liberalization and political modernization. The 1996 signing of the peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused relatively little damage to Guatemala compared to its neighbors. Ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, and increasing the efficiency and openness of both government and private financial operations. Despite low international prices for Guatemala's main commodities, the economy grew by 3% in 2000 and is forecast to grow by 4% in 2001. Guatemala, along with Honduras and El Salvador, recently concluded a free trade agreement with Mexico and has moved to protect international property rights. However, the PORTILLO administration has undertaken a review of privatizations under the previous administration, thereby creating some uncertainty among investors. | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.295 billion kWh (1999) | NA |
Electricity - exports | 435 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 210 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 3.785 billion kWh (1999) | 2.864 billion kWh 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
38.31% hydro: 61.69% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
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Ethnic groups | Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites and others 2% | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% |
Exchange rates | quetzales per US dollar - 7.8020 (January 2001), 7.7632 (2000), 7.3856 (1999), 6.3947 (1998), 6.0653 (1997), 6.0495 (1996), 5.8103 (1995) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (since 14 January 2000); Vice President Juan Francisco REYES Lopez (since 14 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 1999; runoff held 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera elected president; percent of vote - Alfonso Antonio PORTILLO Cabrera (FRG) 68%, Oscar BERGER Perdomo (PAN) 32% |
chief of state: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 10 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $171.3 million (2003) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity | - |
Exports - partners | US 51.4%, El Salvador 8.7%, Honduras 5%, Costa Rica 3.4%, Germany 2.7% (1998) | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $46.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
23% industry: 20% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: % NA
industry: % NA services: % NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 15 30 N, 90 15 W | 42 30 N, 19 18 E |
Geography - note | no natural harbors on west coast | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Highways | total:
13,856 km paved: 4,370 km (including 140 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,486 km (1998) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.6% highest 10%: 46.6% (1989) |
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Illicit drugs | transit country for cocaine and heroin; minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (cocaine and heroin shipments); money laundering is probably increasing | - |
Imports | $4.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $601.7 million (2003) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity | - |
Imports - partners | US 42.8%, Mexico 9.9%, Japan 4.8%, El Salvador 4.3%, Venezuela 3.8% (1998) | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2003) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro); note - a referendum on independence was held 21 May 2006 |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (1999) | - |
Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism | steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 45.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2004) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, ICFTU, ILO, Interpol, IPU, ITU, OSCE, UN, UPU, WHO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (thirteen 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); Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados) | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 4.2 million (1999 est.) | 259,100 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,687 km border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 54% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect - official), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (113 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 7 November 1999 (next to be held in November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FRG 63, PAN 37, ANN 9, DCG 2, UD/LOV 1, PLP 1 note: for the 7 November 1999 election, the number of congressional seats was increased from 80 to 113 |
unicameral Assembly (81 seats, elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats at the time of the elections)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Coalition for a European Montenegro 41, SNS 12, Coalition SPP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Democratic League-Democratic Prosperity 1, Democratic Union of Albanians 1, Albanian Alternative 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.51 years male: 63.85 years female: 69.31 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.6% male: 68.7% female: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
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Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 4 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2006) |
Military - note | - | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $120 million (FY99) | $2.306 billion |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,092,050 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,018,636 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
140,358 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | National Day, 13 July |
Nationality | noun:
Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
Net migration rate | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 275 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Jorge Luis ORTEGA]; Democratic Union or UD [Jose Luis CHEA Urruela]; Green Party or LOV [Jose ASTURIAS Rudecke]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Pablo MONSANTO, also known as Jorge SOTO]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; New Nation Alliance or ANN [leader NA], which includes the URNG; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel LOPEZ Rodas]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina] | Albanian Alternative or AA; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for a European Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS and Social Democratic Party or SDP) [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Coalition SPP/NS/DSS; Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | 12,974,361 (July 2001 est.) | 630,548 (2004) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | 12.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2004) |
Ports and harbors | Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) | 31 (2004) |
Radios | 835,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
884 km (102 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 884 km 0.914-m gauge (single track) |
total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala domestic: NA international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); two international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 665,061 (June 2000) | 177,663 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 663,296 (September 2000) | 543,220 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 27.7% (2005) |
Waterways | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season |
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