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Guatemala

Coordinates: 14°38′N 90°30′W / 14.633°N 90.500°W / 14.633; -90.500
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Republic of Guatemala
República de Guatemala  (Spanish)
Motto: "País de la Eterna Primavera"
"Land of the Eternal Spring"[1]
Anthem: Himno Nacional de Guatemala
National anthem of Guatemala
Location of Guatemala
Capital
and largest city
Guatemala City
14°38′N 90°30′W / 14.633°N 90.500°W / 14.633; -90.500
Official languagesSpanish
Demonym(s)Guatemalan
GovernmentUnitary presidential Constitutional republic
• President
Bernardo Arévalo
Karin Herrera
Independence
• from Spain
September 15, 1821
Area
• Total
108,889 km2 (42,042 sq mi) (107th)
• Water (%)
0.4
Population
• Census
11,237,196 hab
• Density
129/km2 (334.1/sq mi) (85th)
GDP (PPP)2011 estimate
• Total
$73.022 billion[2]
• Per capita
$4,965[2]
GDP (nominal)2011 estimate
• Total
$46.383 billion[2]
• Per capita
$3,154[2]
Gini (2007)55.1
high
HDI (2011)Steady 0.574[3]
medium · 131st
CurrencyQuetzal (GTQ)
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+502
ISO 3166 codeGT
Internet TLD.gt

Guatemala is a country in Central America. Its culture is a mix of both Mayan and Spanish cultures from the colonial period. Guatemala has many languages, a total of 23. Because of its natural beauty, it is a popular tourist destination. Its weather changes often because of the mountain range which crosses the center of the country.

The capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City. Guatemala is the world's largest producer and exporter of cardamom.[4] Its neighbors are Belize, Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

Population

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It has the largest population in Central America. More than fourteen million people live in the 22 Guatemalan departments. Most of the population is made up of mestizo (mixed race) people, who are a combination of Native and European people. Mestizo are 40% of the population. Native Mayan people are 49% of the population, while 9% are direct descendants of Spanish and German people. Black people are 2% of the population.

The capital was moved several times because of natural disasters. The first city was destroyed when the volcano Volcan de Agua erupted, forcing the move to what today is called Antigua Guatemala. This city was destroyed by earthquakes. Finally, the capital was moved to Guatemala City.


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References

[change | change source]
  1. Aguirre, Lily (1949). The land of eternal spring: Guatemala, my beautiful country. Patio Press. p. 253.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Guatemala". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  3. "Human Development Report 2011" (PDF). United Nations. 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  4. "Cardamom and Guatemala" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-04.