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Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Guatemala

According to the CIA World Fact Book, Guatemala has a population of 12,728,111 (2007 est). The majority of the population is Ladino, also called Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish), and Whites (primarily of Spanish, but also those of Italian, German, British and Scandinavian descent), they make up a combined total of 59.4%. Amerindians populations include the K'iche' 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9% and Q'eqchi 6.3%. 8.6% of the population is "other Mayan" making the indigenous community in Guatemala a majority in the population, 0.2% is indigenous non-Mayan, and 0.1% is "other".[20] There are smaller communities present. The Garífuna, who are descended from Africans and indigenous peoples from St. Vincent's, live mainly in Livingston and Puerto Barrios, and other blacks and mulattos. There are also Arabs of Lebanese and Syrian descent, and Asians, mostly of Chinese descent. There is also a growing Korean community in Guatemala City and in nearby Mixco, currently numbering about 10,000.[4] Guatemala's German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country.[21]

In 1900, Guatemala had a population of 885,000.[22] 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 U.S. has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s.[23]

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[24] to 1 million.[25] The difficulty in getting accurate counts for Guatemalans abroad is because many of them are refugee claimants awaiting determination of their status.[


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.[27] The distribution of income remains highly unequal with approximately 29%[28] of the population living below the poverty line and just over 400,000 (3.2%) unemployed. The World Bank considers three quarters of the population of Guatemala to be living in poverty. [29]

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).[30]

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 $61.38 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. Inflation was 5.7% in 2006.

The 1996 peace accords that ended the decades-long Civil War removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. Tourism has become an increasing source of revenue 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.[31] Guatemala also has free trade agreements with Taiwan and Colombia.


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 Maya archaeology. Both museums are housed inside the Universidad Francisco Marroquín campus. Almost each of the 329 municipalities in the country has a small museum.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/AntiguaGuatemala.jpg/220px-AntiguaGuatemala.jpg
 Musicians in Antigua Guatemala.

Literature
The Guatemala National Prize in Literature is a one-time only award that recognizes an individual writer's body of work. It has been given annually since 1988 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Miguel Ángel Asturias, won the literature Nobel Prize in 1967. Among his famous books is "El Señor Presidente", a novel based on the government of Manuel Estrada Cabrera.

Music
he Music of Guatemala comprises a number of styles and expressions. The Maya had an intense musical practice, as is documented by iconography. 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. 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. 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. There are many contemporary music groups in Guatemala from Caribbean music, salsa, punta (Garifuna influenced), Latin pop, Mexican regional, and mariachi. There is also a vibrant scene for what is known in the Hispanic world as rock en Español (Spanish rock).

Language
Language Map of Guatemala, according to the Comisión de Oficialización de los Idiomas Indígenas de Guatemala. The "Castilian" areas represent Spanish.

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 two non-Mayan Amerindian languages, Xinca, an indigenous language, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to Decreto Número 19-2003, twenty-three languages are recognized as National Languages.[32] As first and second language, Spanish is spoken by 93 per cent of the population 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.[citation needed]

Religion
50-60% of the population is Catholic, 40% Protestant, and 1% follow the indigenous Maya faith. Catholicism was the official 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. Protestantism and traditional Mayan religions are practiced by an estimated 40% and 1% of the population, respectively.[7] It is common for traditional Mayan practices to be incorporated into Catholic ceremonies and worship, a phenomenon known as syncretism. The practice of traditional Mayan religion is increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. 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 and those who do not profess any faith.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently has over 215,000 members in Guatemala, accounting for approximately 1.65% of the country's estimated population in 2008.[33] The first member of the church in Guatemala was baptized in 1948. Membership grew to 10,000 by 1966, and 18 years later, when the Guatemala City Temple[34][35] was dedicated in 1984, membership had risen to 40,000. By 1998 membership had quadrupled again to 164,000. [10] The church continues to grow in Guatemala; it has announced and begun the construction of the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple[36], the church's second temple in the country.

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 (USAC or Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala), and 9 private ones (see List of universities in Guatemala). USAC was one of the first universities in America. It was officially declared a university on January 31, 1676 by royal command of King Charles II of Spain. Only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate, the lowest literacy rate in Central America. Although it has the lowest literacy rate, Guatemala is expected to change this within the next 10 years.