Location: Middle America, between Honduras and Mexico

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 108,890 sq km
land area: 108,430 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries: total 1,687 km, Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km

Coastline: 400 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: the outer edge of the continental shelf
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime border with Belize in dispute; desultory negotiations to resolve the dispute have begun

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)

Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 12%
forest and woodland: 40%
other: 32%

Irrigated land: 780 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea

Note: no natural harbors on west coast

NOTE: The information regarding Guatemala on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guatemala Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Guatemala Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.