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Republic of Guatemala
National name: República de Guatemala
President: Alfonso Portillo Cabrera (2000)
Area: 42,042 sq. mi. (108,890 sq. km)
Population (1999 est.): 12,335,580 (average annual rate of natural increase: 2.88%); birth rate: 35.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 46.2/1000; density per sq. mi.: 293
Capital and largest city (1994 est.): Guatemala City, 1,150,452
Other large cities (1994 est.): Mixco, 413,002; Villa Nueva, 154,508
Monetary unit: Quetzal
Languages: Spanish, Indian languages
Ethnicity/race: Mestizo—mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 44%
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Mayan
Literacy rate: 55%
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (1998 est.): $45.7 billion; $3,800 per capita. Real growth rate: 5%. Inflation: 6.4%. Unemployment: 5.2% (1997 est.). Arable land: 12%. Agriculture: sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens. Labor force: 3.32 million (1997 est.); agriculture. 58%; services, 14%; manufacturing, 14%; commerce, 7%; construction, 4%; transport, 2.6%; utilities, 0.3%; mining, 0.1% (1995). Industry: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism. Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle. Exports: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.): coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamom, petroleum. Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.): fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain, fertilizers, motor vehicles. Major trading partners: U.S., El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan.
