Guatemala - Country information

Guatemala's neighbour countries are Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. The country is made up of three main regions - the cool and densely populated highlands, a tropical stretch along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and the tropical jungle in the lowlands in the North.
The magnificient Maya civilization bloomed some one thousand years ago, and you can still see its ruins throughout the country. Today over 50% of Guatemalans have Maya ancestry; most of them live in the western highlands as farmers. The other half of the population, known as Ladinos, have a mixed descendancy of Mayans and Spanish. Ladinos speak Spanish and dress in Western clothing, whereas Maya speak over 20 different indigenous languages and cling to traditional dress and customs. Ladinos of the cities dominate commerce, government, and the military. Guatemalan society became increasingly polarized when guerrilla groups formed in 1960 to fight for the poor majority of the Maya lower class. This civil caused the loss of 200,000 lives and displacement of half a million people. In September 1996, an agreement was drafted between the government and the guerrillas to end the civil war that had lasted for 36 years.
The democratic government is making progress in moving the Economy away from agriculture toward manufacture and tourism.
One of the most renowned tourism sites is Tikal, in northern Guatemala with a rough 3,000 Maya buildings from 600 B.C. to A.D. 900.

Facts about Guatemala

Economy

People