Polity · 1840 CE – present
Guatemala
República de Guatemala · República de Guatemala
Also recorded as Republic of Guatemala
- Peak recorded area
- 109,168 km²
- 1913 CE
- Rulers on record
- 9
- from 1996 CE
- Data series
- 432
- 1840 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in northern Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Gulf of Honduras to the northeast.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
7 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 1 further extent, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 62 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population269 obs · 1820 CE–2025 CE | 18.7Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 72.89years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Urban Population149 obs · 1868 CE–2016 CE | 2.8Mpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -7,959persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.5% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 75.21years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 173 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 7,480int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| Total Exports145 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | 10.7Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports145 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | 18.3Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance145 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | -7,589.02million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness145 obs · 1870 CE–2014 CE | 28.9Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 123.3Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 41 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score149 obs · 1868 CE–2016 CE | 0.0009CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption149 obs · 1868 CE–2016 CE | 13.6Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production149 obs · 1868 CE–2016 CE | 314Ktons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel144 obs · 1868 CE–2016 CE | 18Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure % GDP135 obs · 1955 CE–2024 CE | 0.3676% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| Military Expenditure94 obs · 1914 CE–2016 CE | 268Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 69 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 14.5% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Oil Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 5.73TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 32.6% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 43.04%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0857hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 4.6Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 30 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Rule Of Law Index235 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.572index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Electoral Democracy Index232 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.597index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index232 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.469index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index232 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.386index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2174 obs · 1839 CE–2012 CE | 8index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index235 obs · 1789 CE–2024 CE | 0.811index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios131 obs · 1839 CE–1999 CE | 910count1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km119 obs · 1875 CE–1993 CE | 1,139km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production65 obs · 1937 CE–2001 CE | 5.9BGWh2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation54 obs · 1946 CE–1999 CE | 448.7Kcirculation1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %53 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 101.49%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
9 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Álvaro Enrique Arzú IrigoyenPresident1996 CE – 2000 CE
- Alfonso PortilloPresident2000 CE – 2004 CE
- Óscar BergerPresident2004 CE – 2008 CE
- Álvaro ColomPresident2008 CE – 2012 CE
- Otto Pérez MolinaPresident2012 CE – 2015 CE
- Alejandro Maldonado AguirrePresident2015 CE – 2016 CE
- Jimmy MoralesPresident2016 CE – 2020 CE
- Alejandro GiammatteiPresident2020 CE – 2024 CE
- Bernardo Arévalo de LeónHead of State2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Bernardo ARÉVALO de León (since 15 January 2024); head of government: President Bernardo ARÉVALO de León (since 15 January 2024); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
- Ethnic groups
- Mestizo (mixed Indigenous-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Maya 41.7%, Xinca (Indigenous, non-Maya) 1.8%, African descent 0.2%, Garifuna (mixed West and Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak) 0.1%, foreign 0.2% (2018 est.)
- Natural resources
- petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
- Economy
- developing Central American economy; steady economic growth fueled by remittances; high poverty and income inequality; limited government services, lack of employment opportunities, and frequent natural disasters impede human development efforts and drive emigration
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- quetzales (GTQ)
Memberships
- 5-member Non-Aggression Pact (1907)Historical alliance · member1907 CE – 1918 CE
- 5-member Non-Aggression Pact (1923)Historical alliance · member1923 CE – 1932 CE
- 21-member Entente (1936)Historical alliance · member1936 CE – 1945 CE
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- 20-member Defense Pact (1945)Military alliance · member1945 CE – 1947 CE
- 35-member Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1947 CE –
- 6-member Defense Pact (1963)Military alliance · member1963 CE – 1969 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Guatemala is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.