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EconomyEconomy - overview
Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. The agricultural sector accounts for 13% of GDP and 38% of the labor force; key agricultural exports include coffee, sugar, bananas, and vegetables. The 1996 peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and since then Guatemala has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. The Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) entered into force in July 2006 spurring increased investment and diversification of exports, with the largest increases in ethanol and non-traditional agricultural exports. While CAFTA-DR has helped improve the investment climate, concerns over security, the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continue to hamper foreign direct investment. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with the richest 20% of the population accountingfor more than 51% of Guatemala's overall consumption. More than half of the population is below the national poverty line and 13% of the population lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups, which make up 38% of the population, averages 73% and extreme poverty rises to 28%. Nearly one-half of Guatemala''s children under age five are chronically malnourished, one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Given Guatemala''s large expatriate community in the United States, it is the top remittance recipient in Central America, with inflows serving as a primary source of foreign income equivalent to nearly two-fifths of exports or one-tenth of GDP. Economic growth fell in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets dropped and foreign investment slowed amid the global recession, but the economy recovered gradually in 2010-11 and will likely return to more normal growth rates in 2012. Gdp (purchasing power parity) World Ranking: 82
$75.67 billion (2011 est.)
$72.91 billion (2010 est.) $70.93 billion (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp (official exchange rate)
$46.9 billion (2011 est.)
Gdp - real growth rate World Ranking: 100
3.8% (2011 est.)
2.8% (2010 est.) 0.5% (2009 est.) Gdp - per capita (ppp) World Ranking: 150
$5,100 (2011 est.)
$5,100 (2010 est.) $5,100 (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp - composition by sector
Agriculture 13.3%
Industry 24% Services 62.7% (2011 est.) Labor force World Ranking: 70
5.571 million (2011 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
Agriculture 38%
Industry 14% Services 48% (2011 est.) Unemployment rate World Ranking: 37
4.1% (2011 est.)
3.5% (2010 est.) Population below poverty line
54% (2011 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10% 1.3%
Highest 10% 42.4% (2006) Distribution of family income - gini index World Ranking: 11
55.1 (2007)
55.8 (1998) Investment (gross fixed) World Ranking: 134
15.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget
Revenues $5.54 billion
Expenditures $6.86 billion (2011 est.) Taxes and other revenues World Ranking: 205
11.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) World Ranking: 95
-2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Public debt World Ranking: 115
24.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
29.5% of GDP (2010 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices) World Ranking: 150
6.2% (2011 est.)
3.9% (2010 est.) Central bank discount rate
6.5% (31 December 2010 est.)
NA% (31 December 2009 est.) Commercial bank prime lending rate World Ranking: 58
13.43% (31 December 2011 est.)
13.34% (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of narrow money World Ranking: 78
$9.306 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $6.806 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of broad money World Ranking: 83
$21.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $25.54 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of domestic credit World Ranking: 86
$18.33 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $15.94 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares
$NA
Agriculture - products
Sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens Industries
Sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism Industrial production growth rate World Ranking: 77
4.1% (2011 est.)
Electricity - production World Ranking: 97
8.146 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Electricity - consumption World Ranking: 95
8.161 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Electricity - exports
193.3 million kWh (2011 est.)
Electricity - imports
525.6 million kWh (2011 est.)
Oil - production World Ranking: 82
13,070 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption World Ranking: 86
71,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports World Ranking: 89
15,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports World Ranking: 73
78,550 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - proved reserves World Ranking: 74
83.07 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.) Natural gas - production World Ranking: 188
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - consumption World Ranking: 183
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - exports World Ranking: 108
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - imports World Ranking: 199
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves World Ranking: 94
2.96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) Current account balance World Ranking: 136
-$1.614 billion (2011 est.)
-$878.3 million (2010 est.) Exports World Ranking: 92
$10.46 billion (2011 est.)
$8.566 billion (2010 est.) Exports - commodities
Coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom Exports - partners
US 38%, El Salvador 10.6%, Honduras 6.9%, Mexico 4.8% (2011) Imports World Ranking: 81
$16.6 billion (2011 est.)
$12.86 billion (2010 est.) Imports - commodities
Fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity, mineral products, chemical products, plastic materials and products Imports - partners
US 41.5%, Mexico 10.5%, China 8.4%, El Salvador 4.6% (2011) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold World Ranking: 85
$6.197 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $5.95 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Debt - external World Ranking: 81
$15.67 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $14.34 billion (31 December 2010 est.) Exchange rates
Quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 7.7854 (2011 est.)8.0578 (2010 est.) 8.1616 (2009) 7.5895 (2008) 7.6833 (2007) Fiscal year
Calendar year
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Guatemala (Guatemala City):
 
GPS points from Guatemala (Guatemala City)
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The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 200,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees. In January 2012, Guatemala assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term.