Capital: Guatemala City
Population: 14,655,189 (rank=62)
Area, sq, mi.: 42,043 (rank=103)
Area, sq, km.: 108,891
Real GDP per capita: $4,148

Did You Know?

• About two-thirds of Guatemala is mountainous and volcanic.
• When one hails a taxi or bus, a bigger hand motion indicates a greater distance to travel.
• Guatemala is noted for the marimba, a musica instrument made of wood and played with a rubber-padded stick.
• Women earn roughly one-fifth of the nation's income.

Land and Climate

Covering 42,043 square miles (108,891 square kilometers), Guatemala is just smaller than Tennessee. About two-thirds of the country is mountainous. There are 32 volcanoes, some of wich are active.  Rich forest covering 40 percent of Guatemala, particularly in the northwest Peten region, are subject to rapid deforestation due in part to slash-and-burh agriculture and illegal logging.  Use of wood for heating and cooking also has contributed to deforestation, which in turn has put archaeological sites and wildlife at risk.  Most people live on the slopes of the highlands or in the fertile, well-watered lowlands along the Pacific coast.

The eastern-central portion of the country is hot and dry.  In the coastal lowlands, hot, humid, weather prevails.  In the highlands, days are warm and nights are usually cool.  The average annual temperature in the capital, whis is located on a plateau 4,800 feet (1,400 meteres) above sea level, is 75oF(24oC). Guatemalans often refer to their country as the Land of the Eternal Spring.  November through Apirl is the dry season.  Rain is abudant from May through October.  Guatemala's Caribbean coast is wet year-round.

Population

Guatemala's population of nearly 14.7 million is growing at a higher than average 2.6 percent annually.  While 55 percent is ladino (people who descend from the Spanish and Maya but relate more to their Spanish heritage), 43 percent is composed of some 28 indigenous groups descenden from the Maya.  Some of the largest are the Quiché, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Ixil and Mam.  The live throughout the country, but many reside in western highlands.  Collectively, they refer to themselves as indígenas (indigenous) or Maya. A small black minority, the Garífuna, is concentrated on Guatemala's Caribbean coast. There is also a small white minority. Guatemalans as a group are know colloquially as "chapines".