Guatemala
Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, several of them still erupting, and it was the heartland of the ancient Maya.
- CapitalGuatemala CityThe largest city in Central America
- PopulationAbout 18 millionThe most populous country in Central America
- Volcanoes37Three are currently active
- LanguagesSpanish plus 22 MayanOver 40 per cent of people are Indigenous
A chain of volcanoes runs across southern Guatemala, and their ash has made the highland soil extremely fertile, which is why coffee grows so well here. Volcan de Fuego erupts regularly, sometimes several times a day.
Guatemala was the centre of the Maya world. Tikal, deep in the northern rainforest, was a city of perhaps 60,000 people with stone temples rising above the tree canopy. It was abandoned around 900 AD and swallowed by forest until archaeologists cleared it in the twentieth century.
National symbols
- National bird Resplendent quetzal, whose tail feathers can be a metre long
- National flower Monja blanca, a white orchid
- National anthem Himno Nacional de Guatemala
- National day Independence Day, 15 September
Map of Guatemala
Geography
Guatemala covers 108,889 km2 and borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, with coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
A volcanic mountain chain crosses the south, rising to Volcan Tajumulco at 4,220 m, the highest point in Central America. North of the mountains lies the Peten, a flat, low limestone region covered in rainforest where the Maya cities stand.
Climate
Guatemala calls itself the land of eternal spring, because the highlands where most people live stay pleasantly mild all year, around 18C to 25C.
The lowlands on both coasts are hot and humid. The rainy season runs roughly May to October. Guatemala sits where three tectonic plates meet, so earthquakes are frequent and sometimes severe.
Culture
Spanish is official, and 22 Mayan languages plus Xinca and Garifuna are recognised. More than 40 per cent of Guatemalans are Indigenous, the highest proportion in Central America.
Maya women in the highlands still weave and wear the huipil, a blouse whose colours and patterns identify which town the wearer comes from. Around 88 per cent of Guatemalans are Christian.
Economy
Coffee grown on volcanic highland slopes is the best-known export, along with sugar, bananas and cardamom. Guatemala is the largest cardamom exporter in the world.
Clothing factories supply the American market, and money sent home by Guatemalans working in the United States makes up a very large share of national income.
The flag
Two light blue vertical bands with a white one between them. The blue stands for the Pacific and Caribbean on either side of the country, and the white for peace and purity.
The coat of arms in the centre shows a resplendent quetzal, the national bird, standing for liberty because the bird was believed to die in captivity. Behind it are crossed rifles and swords, and a scroll dated 15 September 1821, the day Central America declared independence from Spain.