Page last modified 21 August 2023
Guatemala
Community
Area 108,889 square kilometres (land area 107,159 square kilometres)
Population,
1,100,000 (1850)
1,224,602 (1880)
1,510,000 (1892)
1,842,134 (1903)
2,004,900 (1921)
2,788,122 (1950)
4,210,000 (1960) +51.0%
5,620,000 (1970) +33.5%
7,280,000 (1980) +29.6%
9,260,000 (1990) +27.2%
11,650,000 (2000) +25.8%
14,230,000 (2010) +22.1%
16,858,000 (2020) +18.5%
Ethnicity %
|
|
Amerindian |
Mixed |
White |
|
1903 |
60.0 |
|
|
|
1950 |
66.0 |
33.0 |
1.0 |
|
1988 |
55.0 |
44.5 |
0.5 |
Religion,
|
|
Christian Protestant |
Christian R C |
No religion |
|
1900 |
0.0 |
99.4 |
0.0 |
|
1970 |
4.3 |
95.0 |
0.2 |
|
1978 |
12.7 |
82.9 |
4.4 |
|
1991 |
24.7 |
63.3 |
13.8 |
|
2001 |
25.5 |
55.1 |
17.4 |
|
2010 |
39.2 |
47.2 |
12.3 |
Birth and death rates Below replacement rate = 2.1
|
|
Fertility Rate |
Birth Rate |
Infant Mortality |
Death Rate |
% Aged Under 15 |
% Aged Over 65 |
% Urban |
|
1952 |
|
51.0 (+29.0) |
141.0 |
22.0 |
44.1 |
2.5 |
24.1 |
|
1962 |
6.0 |
48.0 (+30.2) |
141.0 |
17.8 |
46.4 |
2.7 |
32.4 |
|
1972 |
4.1 |
45.0 (+31.8) |
112.0 |
13.8 |
45.7 |
2.9 |
36.2 |
|
1980 |
3.2 |
43.0 (+31.5) |
87.7 |
11.5 |
46.2 |
3.0 |
37.4 |
|
1990 |
3.0 |
39.0 (+30.5) |
60.4 |
8.5 |
45.9 |
3.4 |
41.1 |
|
2000 |
2.8 |
37.0 (+30.8) |
42.1 |
6.2 |
43.7 |
4.0 |
45.3 |
|
2010 |
2.5 |
27.7 (+22.6) |
29.1 |
5.1 |
39.4 |
4.3 |
48.4 |
|
2015 |
2.4 |
25.6 (+20.7) |
24.3 |
4.9 |
36.2 |
4.5 |
50.0 |
|
2017 |
2.3 |
24.9 (+20.1) |
22.8 |
4.8 |
|
|
|
|
2018 |
|
|
22.1 |
|
34.4 |
4.8 |
51.1 |
Life expectancy,
42.1 (1952); 42.1 (M), 42.1 (F)
46.7 (1960); 46.1 (M), 47.4 (F)
52.5 (1970); 51.4 (M), 53.7 (F)
57.3 (1980); 55.5 (M), 59.2 (F)
62.3 (1990); 59.5 (M), 65.2 (F)
67.7 (2000); 64.6 (M), 71.0 (F)
70.4 (2010); 68.3 (M), 74.7 (F)
74.4 (2020); 71.5 (M), 77.2 (F)
Population of principal cities, MA = Metropolitan Area
|
|
Escuintla |
GUATEMALA CITY1 |
Quetzaltenango |
|
1900 |
12,000 |
97,000 |
31,000 |
|
1940 |
|
178,780 |
30,125 |
|
1950 |
9,822 |
249,000 |
|
|
1960 |
|
474,000 |
39,000 |
|
1970 |
|
770,000 |
54,000 |
|
1983 |
|
1,300,000 |
65,733 |
|
1990 |
|
2,100,000 |
80,000 |
|
2000 |
83,000 |
3,200,000 |
|
|
2002 |
86,878 |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
225,000 |
|
2015 |
|
3,300,000 MA |
|
1Antigua was the
original capital, but suffered major earthquakes in 1543 and 1773.� Guatemala City was founded in 1776; it also
suffered a major earthquake, in 1976.
Wealth; Gross Domestic Product (nominal values)
|
|
GDP, US$ million |
Total GDP, % of USA |
GDP per capita, US$ |
GDP per capita % of USA |
|
1949 |
380 |
0.17 |
103 |
6.75 |
|
1956 |
600 |
0.17 |
|
|
|
1960 |
1,044 |
0.19 |
248 |
8.25 |
|
1965 |
1,247 |
0.17 |
273 |
7.13 |
|
1970 |
1,900 |
0.18 |
361 |
6.88 |
|
1975 |
3,650 |
0.22 |
584 |
7.47 |
|
1980 |
7,880 |
0.28 |
1,139 |
9.04 |
|
1985 |
11,180 |
0.27 |
1,405 |
7.69 |
|
1990 |
7.610 |
0.00 |
827 |
3.45 |
|
1995 |
14,650 |
0.20 |
1,387 |
4.61 |
|
2000 |
18,580 |
0.19 |
1,655 |
4.54 |
|
2005 |
31,700 |
0.24 |
2,080 |
4.69 |
|
2010 |
40,770 |
0.27 |
2,825 |
5.84 |
|
2015 |
63,770 |
0.35 |
3,923 |
6.98 |
|
2016 |
68,763 |
0.37 |
4,146 |
7.21 |
GDP by primary sector
|
|
Agriculture % GDP |
Agriculture % employed |
Industry % GDP |
Industry % employed |
Services % GDP |
Services % employed |
|
1960 |
|
67.0 |
|
14.0 |
|
19.0 |
|
1970 |
|
61.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
1980 |
25.4 |
55.1 |
15.7 |
16.0 |
57.0 |
30.4 |
|
1990 |
25.0 |
52.0 |
19.0 |
|
|
|
|
2000 |
23.0 |
50.0 |
20.0 |
15.0 |
57.0 |
35.0 |
|
2010 |
13.3 |
|
24.4 |
|
62.3 |
|
|
2016 |
13.2 |
30.5 |
23.6 |
13.7 |
62.8 |
55.8 |
Communications
Language , % M T, Official; Spanish. In 2010, 93% of the population spoke Spanish as a first or second language.
|
|
Amerindian languages |
Spanish |
|
2000 |
49.0 |
51.0 |
|
2010 |
40.0 |
60.0 |
Literacy
32.0% (1960)
29.0% (1950)
46.0% (1977); 53.6% (M), 38.5% (F) (1)
55.0% (1985); 63.0% (M), 47.0% (F)
69.2% (2000); 76.6% (M), 61.8% (F)
73.2% (2010); 79.0% (M), 68.0% (F)
81.5% (2015); 87.4% (M), 76.3% (F)
(1) Literacy was just 3% in the Amerindian population
Physical communications � roads
|
|
Roads (km) |
Surfaced (km) |
Motor vehicles |
Cars |
Commercial Vehicles |
|
1943 |
6,910 |
|
|
|
|
|
1945 |
|
|
|
4,228 |
|
|
1948 |
|
|
8,500 |
|
|
|
1960 |
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
|
1961 |
11,821 |
1,286 |
|
29,400 |
11,567 |
|
1962 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1965 |
|
|
54,000 |
|
|
|
1976 |
|
|
|
82,700 |
50,100 |
|
1977 |
17,139 |
2,765 |
|
|
|
|
1980 |
|
|
220,000 |
|
|
|
1985 |
|
2,850 |
250,000 |
|
|
|
1996 |
|
3,615 |
|
102,000 |
|
|
2000 |
17,500 |
4,870 |
|
|
42,219 |
|
2003 |
|
|
|
127,800 |
145,900 |
|
2007 |
|
|
1,191,000 |
|
|
|
2010 |
|
|
1,468,000 |
1,200,000 |
124,000 |
|
2013 |
|
|
1,689,000 |
|
|
Railways; First railway opened 1880
Length, kilometres
560 (1900)
662 (1910)
1,096 (1938)
1,152 (1943)
1,150 (1961)
820 (1985)
788 (2005)
800 (2014)
Electronic communications �TV broadcasts began 1956
|
|
Telephones (landlines) |
Mobile Telephones |
Radios |
Televisions |
PCs |
Internet Users |
|
1938 |
2,239 |
|
11,531 |
|
|
|
|
1941 |
3,800 |
|
22,000 |
|
|
|
|
1950 |
|
|
27,000 |
|
|
|
|
1958 |
22,000 |
|
50,000 |
|
|
|
|
1960 |
|
|
210,000 |
|
|
|
|
1961 |
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
|
1970 |
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
|
1975 |
47,580 |
|
|
190,000 |
|
|
|
1978 |
70,600 |
|
280,000 |
|
|
|
|
1980 |
81,622 |
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
|
1990 |
190,200 |
293 |
600,000 |
475,000 |
|
|
|
1993 |
|
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
1995 |
|
30,000 |
750,000 |
600,000 |
30,000 |
|
|
2000 |
676,630 |
856,800 |
902,000 |
1,650,000 |
130,000 |
250,000 |
|
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
2004 |
|
|
|
|
231,000 |
756,000 |
|
2005 |
|
4,510,000 |
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
|
2010 |
1,413,000 |
18,068,000 |
|
5,000,000 |
|
2,279,000 |
|
2016 |
1,675,000 |
19,208,700 |
|
|
|
5,242,000 |
Tourism: Visitors to Guatemala,
420,000 (1973)
234,000 (1982)
353,000 (1987)
509,000 (1990)
563,000 (1995)
826,000 (2000)
1,316,000 (2005)
1,384,000 (2010)
1,865,000 (2015)