República de Guatemala Republic of Guatemala
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Libre Cresca Fecundo" "Grow Free and Fertile"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de Guatemala
Capital (and largest city)		Guatemala City 14°38′N, 90°30′W
Official languages		Spanish (de facto)
Demonym		Guatemalan
Government		Constitutional republic
-	President	Álvaro Colom Caballeros
-	Vice President	Rafael Espada
Independence		from Spain
-	Date	15 September 1821
Area
-	Total	108,890 km² (106th) 42,042 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0. The flag of Guatemala features two colours sky Blue and White. The coat of arms of Guatemala comprises A wreath of Olive branches the symbol for victory The Resplendent Quetzal, a bird that symbolizes A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's The National Anthem of Guatemala was written by José Joaquín Palma (1844-1911 and composed by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle. According to the CIA World Fact Book Mestizos (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and Europeans comprise 59 Guatemala City (in full La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or Guate) is the Capital and largest city of the An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A constitutional Republic is a State where the Head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people and The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839 when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz. Álvaro Colom Caballeros (born 15 June 1951 in Guatemala City) is the President of Guatemala for the 2008-2012 term Vice President of Guatemala is political position in Guatemala which is since 1966 elected concurrently with position of President of Guatemala. Dr José Rafael Espada is the Vice President of Guatemala and a former cardiothoracic surgeon Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here Surface areas between 100000 km² and 1000000 km² This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a Fraction of 100 ( per cent meaning "per hundred" 4
Population
-	July 2009 estimate	13,000,000 (70th)
-	July 2007 census	12,728,111
-	Density	134. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 6/km² (85th) 348. List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² 6/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$63. The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. 78 billion (71st)
-	Per capita	$4,155 (116th)
Gini (2002)		55. There are three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion most prominently used as a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth 1 (high)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0. The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 689 (medium) (118th)
Currency		Quetzal (GTQ)
Time zone		(UTC-6)
Internet TLD		.gt
Calling code		+502

Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The quetzal ( ISO 4217 code GTQ is the Currency of Guatemala. ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Belize (bəˈliːz formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America.

A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala City. Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives The nation has been stable since 1996 and has been in a state of continuous development and economic growth. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined A biodiversity hotspot is a Biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction ^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-Columbian 1.2 Colonial 1.3 Independence and 19th century 1.4 1944 to Present 2 Politics 2.1 Foreign Relations 3 Departments and municipalities 4 Geography 4.1 Natural disasters 4.2 Biodiversity 5 Demographics 5.1 Diaspora 6 Economy 7 Culture 7.1 Language 7.2 Religion 7.3 Education 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links

History

Main article: History of Guatemala

Pre-Columbian

The first evidence of human settlers in Guatemala goes back to at least 10,000 BC. The History of Guatemala can be traced back to the arrival of the first human settlers presumed to have migrated from the north at least 12000 years ago {5} There is some evidence that may put this date as early as 18,000 BC, such as obsidian arrow heads found in various parts of the country. Obsidian is a naturally occurring Glass formed as an extrusive Igneous rock. ^[2] There is archaeological proof that early Guatemalan settlers were hunters and gatherers, but pollen samples from Petén and the Pacific coast indicate that maize cultivation was developed by 3500 BC. The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica ^[3] Archaic sites have been documented in Quiché in the Highlands and Sipacate, Escuintla on the central Pacific coast (6500 BC). Sipacate (located at 13°56' North 91°9' West is a resort on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in Escuintla Department about 22 miles (36 km west of Escuintla (sometimes spelled Esquintla) is a city in south central Guatemala.

Archaeologists divide the pre-Columbian history of Mesoamerica into 3 periods: the Pre-Classic from 2000 BC to 250 AD, the Classic from 250 to 900 AD, and the Calistic from 900 to 1500 AD. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined ^[4] Until recently, the Pre-Classic was regarded as a formative period, with small villages of farmers who lived in huts, and few permanent buildings, but this notion has been challenged by recent discoveries of monumental architecture from that period, such as an altar in La Blanca, San Marcos, from 1000 BC; ceremonial sites at Miraflores and El Naranjo from 801 BC; the earliest monumental masks; and the Mirador Basin cities of Nakbé, Xulnal, Tintal, Wakná and El Mirador. La Blanca is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site with an occupation dating predominately from the Middle Preclassic (900-600 BC period of Mesoamerican The Mirador Basin is a geographically defined elevated Basin found in the remote rain forest of the northern department of Petén, Guatemala. Nakbe is one of the largest early Maya archaeological sites rivaled by El Mirador. El Mirador is a large Pre-Columbian Mayan settlement located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatemala.

El Mirador was by far the most populated city in the pre-Columbian America. Both the El Tigre and Monos pyramids encompass a volume greater than 250,000 cubic meters. ^[5] Mirador was the first politically organized state in America, named the Kan Kingdom in ancient texts. There were 26 cities, all connected by Sacbeob (highways), which were several kilometers long, up to 40 meters wide, and 2 to 4 meters above the ground, paved with stucco, that are clearly distinguishable from the air in the most extensive virgin tropical rain forest in Mesoamerica. Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water

The Classic period of Mesoamerican civilization corresponds to the height of the Maya civilization, and is represented by countless sites throughout Guatemala, although the largest concentration is in Petén. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within This period is characterized by heavy city-building, the development of independent city-states, and contact with other Mesoamerican cultures.

This lasted until around 900 AD, when the Classic Maya civilization collapsed. The Maya abandoned many of the cities of the central lowlands or were killed off by a drought-induced famine. ^[6] Scientists debate the cause of the Classic Maya Collapse, but gaining currency is the Drought Theory discovered by physical scientists studying lakebeds, ancient pollen, and other tangible evidence. ^[7] A series of prolonged droughts in what is otherwise a seasonal desert is thought to have decimated the Maya, who were primarily reliant upon regular rainfall. The Post-Classic period is represented by regional kingdoms such as the Itzá and Ko'woj in the Lakes area in Petén, and the Mam, Ki'ch'es, Kack'chiquel, Tz'utuh'il, Pokom'chí, Kek'chi and Chortí in the Highlands. These cities preserved many aspects of Mayan culture, but would never equal the size or power of the Classic cities.

Colonial

After arriving in what was named the New World, the Spanish mounted several expeditions to Guatemala, beginning in 1518. La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Before long, Spanish contact resulted in an epidemic that devastated native populations. In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a Hernán Cortés, who had led the Spanish conquest of Mexico, granted a permit to Captains Gonzalo de Alvarado and his brother, Pedro de Alvarado, to conquer this land. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (born Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain, ca Alvarado at first allied himself with the Cakchiquel nation to fight against their traditional rivals the Quiché nation. The Kaqchikel (in modern orthography formerly also spelled Cakchiquel) are one of the indigenous Maya peoples of the midwestern highlands in Guatemala This page is about the Native American people for other uses the dish see Quiché (disambiguation. Alvarado later turned against the Cakchiquels, and eventually held the entire region under Spanish domination.

During the colonial period, Guatemala was a Captaincy General (Capitanía General de Guatemala) of Spain, and a part of New Spain (Mexico). A captaincy is a historical Administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese Colonial empires Each was governed by a Captain Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Viceroyalty of New Spain (Virreinato de Nueva España was a name given to the Viceroy -ruled territories of the Spanish Empire in North America, The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. It extended from the modern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas (including the then separate administration of Soconusco) to Costa Rica. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Tabasco is a state in Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west Chiapas to the south and Campeche to the Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country Soconusco is a region of the Mexican state of Chiapas, located in the extreme south of the state and bounded by the Republic of Guatemala on the southeast Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in This region was not as rich in minerals (gold and silver) as Mexico and Peru, and was therefore not considered to be as important. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Its main products were sugarcane, cocoa, blue añil dye, red dye from cochineal insects, and precious woods used in artwork for churches and palaces in Spain. Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made "Anil" redirects here This is also a Hindi word which means "air" and is derived from Sanskrit. Cochineal is the name of both Crimson or Carmine Dye and the cochineal insect ( Dactylopius coccus) a scale Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

The first Capital was named Tecpan Guatemala, founded in July 25, 1524 with the name of Villa de Santiago de Guatemala and was located near Iximché, the Cakchiquel's capital city, It was moved to Ciudad Vieja on November 22, 1527, when the Cakchiquel attacked the city. Tecpán Guatemala (locally referred to as just Tecpán) is a municipality in the department of Chimaltenango, in Guatemala, on the Inter-American Highway Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Iximché is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Ciudad Vieja is a Municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran On September 11, 1541 the city was flooded when the lagoon in the crater of the Agua Volcano collapsed due to heavy rains and earthquakes, and was moved 4 miles (6 km) to Antigua Guatemala, on the Panchoy Valley, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity Volcán de Agua is a Stratovolcano located in the department of Sacatepéquez in Guatemala. La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This City was destroyed by several earthquakes in 1773-1774, and the King of Spain, granted the authorization to move the Captaincy General, to the Ermita Valley, named after a Catholic church to the Virgen de El Carmen, in its current location, founded in January 2, 1776. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. A captaincy is a historical Administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese Colonial empires Each was governed by a Captain Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1776 ( MDCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Independence and 19th century

On September 15, 1821, the Captaincy-general of Guatemala (formed by Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras) officially proclaimed its independence from Spain and its incorporation into the Mexican Empire, which was dissolved two years later. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country The Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century when it was ruled by an Emperor. This region had been formally subject to New Spain throughout the colonial period, but as a practical matter was administered separately. All but Chiapas soon separated from Mexico after Agustín I from Mexico was forced to abdicate. Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

The Guatemalan provinces formed the United Provinces of Central America, also called the Central American Federation (Federacion de Estados Centroamericanos). The Federal Republic of Central America, also known as the United Central Provinces of America, was a short-lived American State in Central America That federation dissolved in civil war from 1838 to 1840 (See: History of Central America). This is the History of Central America is the study of the past, particularly the written record, oral histories, and traditions, passed Guatemala's Rafael Carrera was instrumental in leading the revolt against the federal government and breaking apart the Union. José Rafael Carrera Turcios ( 24 October 1814 &ndash 14 April 1865) was the ruler of Guatemala from about 1839 until his death During this period a region of the Highlands, Los Altos, declared independence from Guatemala, but was annexed by Carrera, who dominated Guatemalan politics until 1865, backed by conservatives, large land owners and the church. Los Altos ("The Highlands" in the Spanish language) was an area of Central America, which was added as a sixth state to the Federal Republic of

Guatemala's "Liberal Revolution" came in 1871 under the leadership of Justo Rufino Barrios, who worked to modernize the country, improve trade, and introduce new crops and manufacturing. Justo Rufino Barrios ( July 19, 1835 &ndash April 2, 1885) was a President of Guatemala known for his liberal reforms and During this era coffee became an important crop for Guatemala. CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom Barrios had ambitions of reuniting Central America and took the country to war in an unsuccessful attempt to attain this, losing his life on the battlefield in 1885 against forces in El Salvador.

1944 to Present

On July 4, 1944, Dictator Jorge Ubico Castañeda was forced to resign his office in response to a wave of protests and a general strike. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jorge Ubico y Castañeda ( 10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946) was President of Guatemala from 14 February, 1931 A general strike is a Strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city region or country His replacement, General Juan Federico Ponce Vaides, was later also forced out of office on October 20, 1944 by a coup d'état led by Major Francisco Javier Arana and Captain Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán. Juan Federico Ponce Vaides ( August 26 1889 &ndash November 16 1956) was the acting President of Guatemala from 4 July Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Francisco Javier Arana (1905 &ndash 1949 was one of the three leaders of the military junta that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán ( September 14, 1913 &ndash January 27, 1971) was the President of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954 when About 100 people were killed in the coup. The country was led by a military junta made up of Arana, Arbenz, and Jorge Toriello Garrido. A military junta is a government ruled by a committee of military leaders Jorge Toriello Garrido (died 1998 was one of the three leaders of the of the first government that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March The Junta called Guatemala's first free election, which was won with a majority of 85 percent by the prominent writer and teacher Juan José Arévalo Bermejo, who had lived in exile in Argentina for 14 years. Juan José Arévalo Bermejo ( 10 September 1904 – 8 October 1990) was the first of the reformist presidents of Guatemala Arévalo was the first democratically elected president of Guatemala to fully complete the term for which he was elected. His "Christian Socialist" policies, inspired by the U. S. New Deal, were criticized by landowners and the upper class as "communist. The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D "

This period was also the beginning of the Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR, which was to have a considerable influence on Guatemalan history. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 From the 1950s through the 1990s, the U. S. government directly supported Guatemala's army with training, weapons, and money.

In 1954, Arévalo's freely elected Guatemalan successor, Jacobo Arbenz, was overthrown by the U. Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán ( September 14, 1913 &ndash January 27, 1971) was the President of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954 when S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a Covert operation organized by the United States Central Intelligence Agency to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas was installed as president in 1954 and ruled until he was assassinated by a member of his personal guard in 1957. Carlos Castillo Armas ( November 4, 1914 &ndash July 26, 1957) was president of Guatemala from July 8,

In the election that followed, General Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes assumed power. José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes (1895 &ndash 1982 was President of Guatemala from 2 March 1958 to 31 March 1963. He is most celebrated for challenging the Mexican president to a gentleman’s duel on the bridge on the south border to end a feud on the subject of illegal fishing by Mexican boats on Guatemala's Pacific coast, two of which were sunk by the Guatemalan Air Force. Ydigoras authorized the training of 5,000 anti-Castro Cubans in Guatemala. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until Cubans (Cubanos are people inhabiting or originating from Cuba. He also provided airstrips in the region of Petén for what later became the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. The Bay of Pigs Invasion (aka Playa Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U Ydigoras' government was ousted in 1963 when the Air Force attacked several military bases. The coup was led by his Defense Minister, Colonel Enrique Peralta Azurdia. Alfredo Enrique Peralta Azurdia (1908 &ndash 1997 was President of Guatemala from 31 March 1963 to 1 July 1966.

In 1966, Julio César Méndez Montenegro was elected president of Guatemala under the banner "Democratic Opening. Julio César Méndez Montenegro ( November 23, 1915 – April 30, 1996) was the Revolutionary Party President of Guatemala " Mendez Montenegro was the candidate of the Revolutionary Party, a center-left party which had its origins in the post-Ubico era. It was during this time that rightist paramilitary organizations, such as the "White Hand" (Mano Blanca), and the Anticommunist Secret Army, (Ejército Secreto Anticomunista), were formed. A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status Those organizations were the forerunners of the infamous "Death Squads. A death squad is an armed Squad that kills civilians terrorists or guerillas " Military advisers of The United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) were sent to Guatemala to train troops and help transform its army into a modern counter-insurgency force, which eventually made it the most sophisticated in Central America.

In 1970, Colonel Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio was elected president. Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio ( 17 July 1918 &ndash 6 December 2003) was President of Guatemala from 1 July 1970 A new guerrilla movement entered the country from Mexico, into the Western Highlands in 1972. In the disputed election of 1974, General Kjell Lauguerud García defeated General Efraín Ríos Montt, a candidate of the Christian Democratic Party, who claimed that he had been cheated out of a victory through fraud. A general election was held in Guatemala on 3 March 1974. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President of the Republic and a new Congress Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García (born 24 January 1930 in Guatemala City) the son of a Norwegian father and Guatemalan mother was José Efraín Ríos Montt (born June 16, 1926) is a former De facto President of Guatemala, army general On February 4, 1976, a major earthquake destroyed several cities and caused more than 25,000 deaths. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In 1978, in a fraudulent election, General Romeo Lucas García assumed power. Fernando Romeo Lucas García (b San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapaz, 4 July 1924 &ndash d The 1970s saw the birth of two new guerrilla organizations, The Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) and the Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), who began and intensified by the end of the seventies, guerrilla attacks that included urban and rural guerrilla warfare, mainly against the military and some of the civilian supporters of the army. In 1979, the United States president, Jimmy Carter, ordered a ban on all military aid to the Guatemalan Army because of the widespread and systematic abuse of human rights. James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002

In 1980, a group of Quiché Indigenous Peoples took over the Spanish Embassy to protest army massacres in the countryside. The Guatemalan government launched an assault that killed almost everyone inside as a result of a fire that consumed the building. The Guatemalan government claimed that the activists set the fire and immolated themselves. ^[8] However, the Spanish ambassador, who survived the fire, disputed this claim, claiming that the Guatemalan police intentionally killed almost everyone inside and set the fire to erase traces of their acts. As a result of this incident, the government of Spain broke diplomatic relations with Guatemala. This government was overthrown in 1982. General Efraín Ríos Montt was named President of the military junta, continuing the bloody campaign of torture, disappearances, and "scorched earth" warfare. José Efraín Ríos Montt (born June 16, 1926) is a former De facto President of Guatemala, army general A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method (possibly more often referred to as a tactic but this is not entirely correct as there is a difference between The country became a pariah state internationally. Ríos Montt was overthrown by General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, who called for an election of a national constitutional assembly to write a new constitution, leading to a free election in 1986, which was won by Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, the candidate of the Christian Democracy Party. Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores (born 1930 was President of Guatemala from 8 August 1983 to 14 January 1986. Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (born 26 December 1942) is a Guatemalan politician

In 1982, the four Guerrilla groups, EGP, ORPA, FAR and PGT, merged and formed the URNG, influenced by the Salvadoran guerrilla FMLN, the Nicaraguan FSLN and Cuba's Government, in order to become stronger. The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (in Spanish: Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca, URNG-MAIZ or most commonly URNG El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America. The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (in Spanish: Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN) is a Left-wing political Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) is a socialist Nicaraguan Political party. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la As a result of the Army's "scorched earth" tactics in the countryside, more than 45,000 Guatemalans fled across the border to Mexico. A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method (possibly more often referred to as a tactic but this is not entirely correct as there is a difference between The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Mexican government placed the refugees in camps in Chiapas and Tabasco. Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country Tabasco is a state in Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west Chiapas to the south and Campeche to the

In 1992, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Rigoberta Menchú for her efforts to bring international attention to the government-sponsored genocide against the indigenous population. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Rigoberta Menchú Tum (b 9 January 1959, Chimel Quiché, Guatemala) is an indigenous Guatemalan of the Quiché - Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group

The Guatemalan Civil War ended in 1996 with a peace accord between the guerrillas and the government of President Álvaro Arzú, negotiated by the United Nations through intense brokerage by nations such as Norway and Spain. The Guatemalan Civil War, the longest civil war in Latin American history ran from 1960 to 1996, and had a profound impact on Guatemala. Álvaro Enrique Arzú Yrigoyen (Irigoyen? (born March 14 1946, in Guatemala City) was President of Guatemala from January 14 The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Both sides made major concessions. The guerrilla fighters disarmed and received land to work. According to the U. N. -sponsored truth commission (styled the "Commission for Historical Clarification"), government forces and state-sponsored paramilitaries were responsible for over 93% of the human rights violations during the war. A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict The Historical Clarification Commission ( Spanish: Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico or CEH was Guatemala 's Truth and reconciliation commission ^[9] During the first 10 years, the victims of the state-sponsored terror were primarily students, workers, professionals, and opposition figures, but in the last years they were thousands of mostly rural Mayan farmers and non-combatants. More than 450 Mayan villages were destroyed and over 1 million people became internal and external refugees. In certain areas, such as Baja Verapaz, the Truth Commission considered that the Guatemalan state engaged in an intentional policy of genocide against particular ethnic groups in the Civil War. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group The Guatemalan Civil War, the longest civil war in Latin American history ran from 1960 to 1996, and had a profound impact on Guatemala. ^[9] In 1999, U. S. president Bill Clinton stated that the United States was wrong to have provided support to Guatemalan military forces that took part in the brutal civilian killings. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States ^[10]

Since the peace accords, Guatemala has witnessed successive democratic elections, most recently in 2007. The past government has signed free trade agreements with the Caleb and the rest of Central America through CAFTA, and other agreements with Mexico. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. In 2007 elections were held in Guatemala. El Partido Nacional de la Esperanza and its president candidate Álvaro Colom won the presidency as well as the majority of the seats in congress.

Guatemala continues to rank as having one of the highest murder rates in the world with an extremely low conviction rate. In Law, a conviction is the Verdict that results when a Court of law finds a Defendant guilty of a Crime.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Guatemala

Guatemala is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guatemala is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President of Guatemala is A presidential system is a System of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term separately from the Legislature Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839 when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition Executive power is exercised by the government. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la República is the unicameral Legislature of the Republic of Guatemala. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State Álvaro Colom is the President of Guatemala as of 14 January 2008

Foreign Relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Guatemala

The Chair of Latin American and Caribbean States is the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations. Álvaro Colom Caballeros (born 15 June 1951 in Guatemala City) is the President of Guatemala for the 2008-2012 term Guatemala 's major diplomatic interests are regional security and increasingly regional development and economic integration The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ^{[11] [12]}

Departments and municipalities

Main articles: Departments of Guatemala and Municipalities of Guatemala

Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (departamentos) and sub-divided into about 332 municipalities (municipios). |||} Guatemala is divided into 22 departments ( departamentos) Alta Verapaz Baja Verapaz Chimaltenango The departments of Guatemala are divided into 332 municipalities or municipios. In the Terminology of Political geography and Historiography a National department (département departamento is an administrative A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a City, Town, or Village, or

The departments include:

Alta Verapaz Baja Verapaz Chimaltenango Chiquimula Petén El Progreso El Quiché Escuintla Guatemala Huehuetenango Izabal

Jalapa Jutiapa Quetzaltenango Retalhuleu Sacatepéquez San Marcos Santa Rosa Sololá Suchitepéquez Totonicapán Zacapa

Guatemala is heavily centralized. |||} Guatemala is divided into 22 departments ( departamentos) Alta Verapaz Baja Verapaz Chimaltenango Transportation, communications, business, politics, and the most relevant urban activity take place in Guatemala City. Guatemala City (in full La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or Guate) is the Capital and largest city of the There is only one highway that traverses the greater communities of the country. Some coastal towns are accessible only through the coast by boats.

Guatemala City has about 2 million inhabitants within the city limits and more than 5 million within in the urban area. This is a significant percentage of the population (12 million).

Geography

Main article: Geography of Guatemala

Guatemala is mountainous, except for the south coastal area and the vast northern lowlands of Petén department. Book of Mormon religious association According to the limited geography model of the Book of Mormon, now widely accepted by LDS scholars Guatemala Two mountain chains enter Guatemala from west to east, dividing the country into three major regions: the highlands, where the mountains are located; the Pacific coast, south of the mountains; and the Petén region, north of the mountains. All major cities are located in the highlands and Pacific coast regions; by comparison, Petén is sparsely populated. These three regions vary in climate, elevation, and landscape, providing dramatic contrasts between hot and humid tropical lowlands and colder and drier highland peaks. Volcán Tajumulco, at 4,220 meters, is the highest point in the Central American states. Volcán Tajumulco is a large Stratovolcano in the department of San Marcos in western Guatemala.

The rivers are short and shallow in the Pacific drainage basin, larger and deeper in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico drainage basins, which include the Polochic and Dulce Rivers, which drain into Lake Izabal, the Motagua River, the Sarstún that forms the boundary with Belize, and the Usumacinta River, which forms the boundary between Petén and Chiapas, Mexico. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world The Polochic River is a 194 km long River in eastern Guatemala. Río Dulce ("Sweet River" is a river in Guatemala. It is part of a lake and river system that has become a very popular cruising sailboat destination Lago de Izabal, also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of 589 The Motagua River is a 486 km long river in Guatemala. It rises in central Guatemala to the north-east of Guatemala City and runs north-east to east to the Gulf The Usumacinta River is a River in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

Guatemala has long claimed all or part of the territory of neighbouring Belize, formerly part of the Spanish colony, and currently an independent Commonwealth Realm which recognises Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State. A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state Guatemala recognized Belize's independence in 1990, but their territorial dispute is not resolved. Negotiations are currently underway under the auspices of the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth of Nations to conclude it. The Organization of American States ( OAS, or as it is known in the three other official languages OEA) is an International organization, headquartered ^[13][14]

Natural disasters

Guatemala's location on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in October of 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding Hurricane Mitch was one of the deadliest and most powerful Hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h Hurricane Stan was the eighteenth named The damage was not wind related, but rather due to significant flooding and resulting mudslides. Mudslide redirects here it is also the name of a cocktail. A mudflow or mudslide is the most rapid (up to 80 km/h / 50 mph

Guatemala's highlands lie along the Motagua Fault, part of the boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates. The Motagua Fault (also Motagua Fault Zone) is a major active left lateral-moving Transform fault which cuts across Guatemala. The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic Tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South The North American Plate is a Tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere This fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes in historic times, including a 7. 5 magnitude tremor on February 4, 1976 which killed more than 25,000 people. In addition, the Middle America Trench, a major subduction zone lies off the Pacific coast. The Middle America Trench is a major Subduction zone, an Oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other Here, the Cocos Plate is sinking beneath the Caribbean Plate, producing volcanic activity inland of the coast. The Cocos Plate is an oceanic Tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them active: Pacaya, Santiaguito, Fuego and Tacaná. Pacaya is an active Complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish Volcán Santa María is a large active Volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, close to the city of Quetzaltenango. Tacaná is a Municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala.

On June 13, 2007 a 6. 8 Magnitude earthquake hit Guatemala at 3:29pm New York Time (1:29pm Guatemalan Time). There were no reports of death or major damage. It only lasted for 30 seconds and this was the second time that an earthquake happened in a week; the last time was June 8, which was a 5. 9 Magnitude.

Biodiversity

The country has 14 ecoregions ranging from Mangrove forests, to both ocean littorals with 5 different ecosystems. Guatemala has 252 listed wetlands, including 5 lakes, 61 lagoons. 100 rivers, and 3 swamps. [3]PDF (63. 1 KiB) Tikal National Park, was the first mixed UNESCO World Heritage Site. A kibibyte (a contraction of ki lo bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, established by the International Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Mayan civilization. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Guatemala is a country of distinct fauna. Fauna is all of the Animal life of any particular region or time It has some 1246 known species. Of these, 6. 7% are endemic and 8. Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere 1% are threatened. Guatemala is home to at least 8681 species of vascular plants, of which 13. 5% are endemic. 5. 4% of Guatemala is protected under IUCN categories I-V.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Guatemala

According to the CIA World Fact Book, Guatemala has a population of 12,728,111 (2007 est). According to the CIA World Fact Book Mestizos (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and Europeans comprise 59 The World Factbook ( ISSN; also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the The majority of the population is Ladino, also called Mestizo(mixed Amerindian and Spanish), and Whites (primarily of Spanish, but also those of German, English, Italian, and Scandinavian descent), they make up a combined total of 59. Ladino is a Spanish term used to describe various socio-ethnic categories in Latin America, principally in Central America. Mestizo is a Spanish term that was coined during the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in Latin For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. White Latin Americans are the white population of Latin America. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well 4%. Amerindians populations include the K'iche 9. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. This page is about the Native American people for other uses the dish see Quiché (disambiguation. 1%, Kaqchikel 8. The Kaqchikel (in modern orthography formerly also spelled Cakchiquel) are one of the indigenous Maya peoples of the midwestern highlands in Guatemala 4%, Mam 7. The Mam are a Native American people of the highlands of western Guatemala. 9% and Q'eqchi 6. 3%. 8. 6% of the population is "other Mayan", 0. The Maya peoples constitute a diverse range of the Native American peoples of southern Mexico and northern Central America. 2% is indigenous non-Mayan, and 0. 1% is "other". ^[15] There are smaller communities present. The Garífuna, who are descended from African slaves, live mainly in Livingston and Puerto Barrios, and other blacks and mulattos. The Garinagu (singular Garifuna) are an ethnic group of mixed ancestry who live primarily in Central America. Puerto Barrios is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras at. Mulatto is a term used to describe a person with one white parent and one black parent or a person whose Ancestry is a mixture of black and white There are also Arabs of Lebanese and Syrian descent, and Asians, mostly of Chinese descent. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Syrians today are an overall indigenous Levantine people closely related to their immediate neighbours like the Lebanese and (to a lesser extent Jordanians Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES There is also a growing Korean community in Guatemala City and in nearby Mixco, currently numbering about 50,000. The Korean people are an East Asian Ethnic group. Most Koreans speak the Korean language. Mixco is a Municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. [4] Guatemala's German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country. ^[16]

In 1900, Guatemala had a population of 885,000. ^[17] Over the course of the twentieth century the population of the country grew, the fastest growth in the Western Hemisphere. The ever-increasing pattern of emigration to the United States has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, Providence, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States ^[18]

Diaspora

The Civil War forced many Guatemalans to start lives outside of their country. The majority of the Guatemalan diaspora is located in the United States with estimates ranging from 480,000^[19] to 1 million,^[20] to 190,000. The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic ^[21] The difficulty in getting accurate counts for Guatemalans abroad is because many of them are refugee claimants awaiting determination of their status. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race ^[22] Below are current statistics for certain countries:

Country	Count
USA	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�". The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"489,426 – 1,102,090
Mexico	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�". The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "�"23,529 – 190,000
Belize	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". Belize (bəˈliːz formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","14,693
Canada	&Expression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operator-1. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page 00000034,665[5]
Germany	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","5,989
Honduras	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","5,172
El Salvador	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ",". El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America. Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","4,209
Spain	&Expression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operatorExpression error: Unexpected / operator-1. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. 0000005,000[6]

Economy

Main article: Economy of Guatemala

According to the CIA World Factbook, Guatemala's GDP per capita is US$5,000; however, this developing country still faces many social problems and is among the 10 poorest countries in Latin America. Guatemala is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Argentina Brazil and Chile The World Factbook ( ISSN; also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties Social issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a Society and are considered to be problems controversies related to Moral values ^[23] The distribution of income remains highly unequal with approximately 7. 1 million (56. 2%) of the population below the poverty line and just over 400,000 (3. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and 2%) unemployed. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work.

Remittances from Guatemalans who fled to the United States during the civil war, now constitute the largest single source of foreign income (more than the combined value of exports and tourism). Remittance can also refer to the Accounting concept of a monetary payment transferred by a customer to a business Remittances are transfers ^[24]

In last years the exporter sector of nontraditional products has grown dynamically representing more than 53 percent of global exports. Some of the main products for export are fruits, vegetables, flowers, handicrafts, cloths and others.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2006 was estimated at $61. The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. 38 billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 58. 7%, followed by the agriculture sector at 22. 1% (2006 est. ). The industrial sector represents only 19. 1% of GDP (2006 est. ). The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Organic coffee, sugar, textiles, fresh vegetables, and bananas are the country's main exports. Organic coffee is Coffee that has been grown according to Organic farming techniques usually without the use of artificial fertilizers pesticides or herbicides Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. The term " vegetable " generally means the edible parts of Plants The definition of the word is traditional rather than Scientific, however For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. The rate of inflation was 5. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time 7% in 2006.

The 1996 peace accords that ended the decades-long Civil War removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. The Guatemalan Civil War, the longest civil war in Latin American history ran from 1960 to 1996, and had a profound impact on Guatemala. Tourism has become an increasing revenue source for Guatemala.

In March 2005 Guatemala's congress ratified the Dominican Republic - Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) between several Central American nations and the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[25] Guatemala also has free trade agreements with Taiwan and Colombia. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America.

Culture

Guatemala City is home to many of the nation’s libraries and museums, including the National Archives, the National Library, and the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, which has an extensive collection of Maya artifacts. There are private museums, such as the Ixchel, which focuses on textiles, and the Popol Vuh, which focuses on Mayan archeology. Both museums are housed inside the Universidad Francisco Marroquín campus. Universidad Francisco Marroquín ("Francisco Marroquín University" is a private secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala that was founded in 1971 Almost each of the 329 municipalities in the country has a small museum.

Literature

The Guatemala National Prize in Literature is a one-time only award that recognizes an individual writer's body of work. The Miguel Ángel Asturias National Prize in Literature (officially in Spanish language: Premio Nacional de Literatura "Miguel Ángel Asturias") is the most It has been given annually since 1988 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Miguel Angel Asturias, won the Literature Nobel Prize in 1967. Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (October 19 1899 – June 9 1974 was a Nobel Prize –winning Guatemalan Poet, Novelist, and Diplomat Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Among his most famous books is "El Señor Presidente", a novel based on the government of Manuel Estrada Cabrera.

Music

The Music of Guatemala comprises a number of styles and expressions. Folk music Guatemalan folk music stems in part from the culture of the Mayan people, with strong influence of the music of Spanish and West African The Maya had an intense musical practice, as is documented by iconography. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Guatemala was also one of the first regions in the New World to be introduced to European music, from 1524 on. Many composers from the Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary music styles have contributed works of all genres, of very high quality. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music In the broadest and popular sense Contemporary music is any music being written in the present day The marimba is the national instrument that has developed a large repertoire of very attractive pieces that have been popular for more than a century. In some parts of Africa the term "marimba" refers to the Kalimba. The Historia General de Guatemala has published a series of CDs of historical Music of Guatemala, in which every style is present, from the Maya, colonial period, independent and republican eras to current times. Folk music Guatemalan folk music stems in part from the culture of the Mayan people, with strong influence of the music of Spanish and West African

Language

Although Spanish is the official language, it is not universally spoken among the indigenous population, nor is it often spoken as a second language. Twenty-one distinct Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as several non-Mayan Amerindian languages, such as the indigenous Xinca, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The Xinca language is a Mesoamerican language spoken by the indigenous Xinca people from communities in the southern portion of Guatemala The Garinagu (singular Garifuna) are an ethnic group of mixed ancestry who live primarily in Central America. The Arawakan languages (also Arahuacan, Arawakanas, Arahuacano, Maipurean, Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúrean According to Decreto Número 19-2003, twenty-three languages are recognized as National Languages. ^[26]

The Peace Accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages (see summary of main substantive accords) and mandate the provision of interpreters in legal cases for non-Spanish speakers. The accord also sanctioned bilingual education in Spanish and indigenous languages. It is common for indigenous Guatemalans to learn or speak between two to five of the nation's other languages, including Spanish.

Religion

Catholic 50-60% also Protestant 40%, Mayan 1%. Christianity was the only religion during the colonial era. However, Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades. More than one third of Guatemalans are Protestant, chiefly Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism Protestantism and traditional Mayan religions are practiced by an estimated 40% and 1% of the population, respectively. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas [7] It is common for traditional Mayan practices to be incorporated into Christian ceremonies and worship, a phenomenon known as syncretism. Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought The practice of traditional Mayan religion is increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all those Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature deities and the heroes interacting with these play the main The government has instituted a policy of providing altars at every Mayan ruin found in the country so that traditional ceremonies may be performed there.

There are also small communities of Jews estimated between 1200 and 2000[8], Muslims (1200), Buddhists at around 9000 to 12000[9], and members of other faiths. The history of the Jews in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross- Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492 The Muslim population of Guatemala is approximately 1200 Of this population 95% are Palestinian Arab immigrants Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims over 205,000 members in Guatemala. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known

Education

The government runs a number of public elementary and secondary-level schools. These schools are free, though the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation makes them less accessible to the poorer segments of society. Many middle and upper-class children go to private schools. The country also has one public university (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala), and 9 private ones (see List of universities in Guatemala). The University of San Carlos of Guatemala (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC was one of the first universities in America. A list of universities in Guatemala. Universidad Francisco Marroquin Universidad Rafael Landívar Universidad Only 69. 1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate, the lowest literacy rate in Central America. ^[27]

See also

• Communications in Guatemala
• Group of Latin American and Caribbean States This page links here and is a redirect with possibilities. Transportation Airports La Aurora International Airport Mundo Maya International Airport Telecomunications Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest You can help by eliminating the redirect command in the redirecting page and expanding it. URL redirection, also called URL forwarding, domain redirection and domain forwarding, is a technique on the World Wide Web for making a

• List of Guatemalans
• Quetzal (national symbol of Guatemala)

Notes

The newest online English Newsmagazine of Guatemala. "The Guatemala Times". http://www.guatemala-times.com

• Historia General de Guatemala, 1999, several authors ISBN 84-88522-07-4.

External links

• Government of Guatemala (Spanish)
• Guatemala: A Country of Mountains by Susana Palma (SEGEPLAN)
• Lake Atitlan
• The Guatemala Times. Online English language Newsmagazine.

• Wikimedia Atlas of Guatemala
• Guatemala at the Open Directory Project

The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory

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