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Guatemala People - 2024


SOURCE: 2024 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Population

17,980,803 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Guatemalan(s)

adjective: Guatemalan

Ethnic groups

Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-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.)

Languages

Spanish (official) 69.9%, Maya languages 29.7% (Q'eqchi' 8.3%, K'iche 7.8%, Mam 4.4%, Kaqchikel 3%, Q'anjob'al 1.2%, Poqomchi' 1%, other 4%), other 0.4% (includes Xinca and Garifuna); note - the 2003 Law of National Languages officially recognized 23 indigenous languages, including 21 Maya languages, Xinca, and Garifuna (2018 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Spanish audio sample:

Religions

Roman Catholic 41.7%, Evangelical 38.8%, other 2.7%, atheist 0.1%, none 13.8%, unspecified 2.9% (2018 est.)

Demographic profile

Guatemala is a predominantly poor country that struggles in several areas of health and development, including infant, child, and maternal mortality, malnutrition, literacy, and contraceptive awareness and use. The country's large indigenous population is disproportionately affected. Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and has the highest fertility rate in Latin America. It also has the highest population growth rate in Latin America, which is likely to continue because of its large reproductive-age population and high birth rate. Almost half of Guatemala's population is under age 19, making it the youngest population in Latin America. Guatemala's total fertility rate has slowly declined during the last few decades due in part to limited government-funded health programs. However, the birth rate is still more close to three children per woman and is markedly higher among its rural and indigenous populations.

Guatemalans have a history of emigrating legally and illegally to Mexico, the United States, and Canada because of a lack of economic opportunity, political instability, and natural disasters. Emigration, primarily to the United States, escalated during the 1960 to 1996 civil war and accelerated after a peace agreement was signed. Thousands of Guatemalans who fled to Mexico returned after the war, but labor migration to southern Mexico continues.

Age structure

0-14 years: 31.98% (male 2,927,423/female 2,822,441)

15-64 years: 62.78% (male 5,568,051/female 5,720,928)

65 years and over: 5.24% (2023 est.) (male 420,782/female 521,178)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 60.9

youth dependency ratio: 53

elderly dependency ratio: 7.9

potential support ratio: 12.7 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 24.4 years (2023 est.)

male: 23.8 years

female: 25 years

Population growth rate

1.54% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

21.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions; more than half of the population lives in rural areas

Urbanization

urban population: 53.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

3.095 million GUATEMALA CITY (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

20.6 years (2014/15 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio

96 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 25.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 28.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 71.2 years

female: 75.3 years

Total fertility rate

2.57 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.25 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

60.6% (2014/15)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.9% of population

rural: 92.2% of population

total: 95% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.1% of population

rural: 8% of population

total: 5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

6.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

1.24 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 90.4% of population

rural: 66.3% of population

total: 78.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 9.6% of population

rural: 33.7% of population

total: 21.2% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

21.2% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 10.9% (2020 est.)

male: 20.1% (2020 est.)

female: 1.6% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

14.4% (2021/22)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

57.2% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

3.1% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 83.3%

male: 87.7%

female: 79.3% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 10 years (2019)

NOTE: The information regarding Guatemala on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guatemala 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Guatemala 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.