Guatemala (2001) | Western Sahara (2003) | |
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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 | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
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: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 477 (2000 est.) | 11 (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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total:
108,890 sq km land: 108,430 sq km water: 460 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Tennessee | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | 34.61 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.2 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Guatemala | none |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 400 km | 1,110 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 | - |
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: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | 6.79 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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 |
none |
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 |
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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds |
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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.295 billion kWh (1999) | 83.7 million 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) | 90 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
38.31% hydro: 61.69% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage | sparse water and lack of arable land |
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 |
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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% | Arab, Berber |
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) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997) |
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% |
none |
Exports | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat, apparel, petroleum, electricity | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | US 51.4%, El Salvador 8.7%, Honduras 5%, Costa Rica 3.4%, Germany 2.7% (1998) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $46.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
23% industry: 20% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 30 N, 90 15 W | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | no natural harbors on west coast | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Highways | total:
13,856 km paved: 4,370 km (including 140 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,486 km (1998) |
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
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 | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 42.8%, Mexico 9.9%, Japan 4.8%, El Salvador 4.3%, Venezuela 3.8% (1998) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (1999) | NA% |
Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 45.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | NA% |
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 | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | - |
Labor force | 4.2 million (1999 est.) | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.) | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
Land boundaries | total:
1,687 km border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 54% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | - |
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 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.51 years male: 63.85 years female: 69.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA 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: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $120 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) | NA% |
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) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Guatemalan(s) adjective: Guatemalan |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower | phosphates, iron ore |
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] | - |
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 | none |
Population | 12,974,361 (July 2001 est.) | 261,794 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | NA% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000) | AM 2, FM 0, 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 | Muslim |
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.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces may not vote) | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 665,061 (June 2000) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 663,296 (September 2000) | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season |
none |