Guatemala (2001) | New Caledonia (2003) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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.) |
0-14 years: 29.7% (male 31,990; female 30,695)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 68,093; female 67,205) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,016; female 6,799) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 477 (2000 est.) | 30 (2002) |
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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
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: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Area | total:
108,890 sq km land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Tennessee | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated. |
Birth rate | 34.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.2 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Guatemala | Noumea |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 400 km | 2,254 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 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
Death rate | 6.79 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
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 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $212 million (1995) | $880 million annual subsidy from France |
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. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.295 billion kWh (1999) | 1.5 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 435 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 210 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.785 billion kWh (1999) | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
38.31% hydro: 61.69% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 76.3%
hydro: 23.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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 |
- |
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% | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
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) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 135.04 (January 2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998) |
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 of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Pierre FROGIER (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 28 November 2002 when Pierre FROGIER was reelected |
Exports | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | US 51.4%, El Salvador 8.7%, Honduras 5%, Costa Rica 3.4%, Germany 2.7% (1998) | Japan 20.6%, France 20.4%, Taiwan 16.3%, South Africa 11.3%, Spain 7.7%, South Korea 5.4%, Australia 5.4%, Italy 5.3% (2002) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $46.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
23% industry: 20% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 15 30 N, 90 15 W | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | no natural harbors on west coast | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 5 (2002) |
Highways | total:
13,856 km paved: 4,370 km (including 140 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,486 km (1998) |
total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.6% highest 10%: 46.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 42.8%, Mexico 9.9%, Japan 4.8%, El Salvador 4.3%, Venezuela 3.8% (1998) | France 52.8%, Australia 12.7%, Singapore 9.8% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (1999) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 45.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
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 | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
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) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 4.2 million (1999 est.) | 79,395 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.) | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,687 km border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 54% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR 24, FLNKS 12, UNI 6, FCCI 4, FN 4, Alliance pour la Caledonie 3, LKS 1 note: New Caledonia elects 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.51 years male: 63.85 years female: 69.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.52 years
male: 70.57 years female: 76.62 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.6% male: 68.7% female: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Malaysia 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $120 million (FY99) | $192.3 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | 5.3% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,092,050 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,018,636 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
140,358 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR [Jacques LAFLEUR]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
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 | NA |
Population | 12,974,361 (July 2001 est.) | 210,798 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 1.38% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 835,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
884 km (102 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 884 km 0.914-m gauge (single track) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 665,061 (June 2000) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 663,296 (September 2000) | 13,040 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season |
none |