Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 5.03%
other: 82.43% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,250 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent
earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and
other tropical storms

Environment - current issues:
deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
no natural harbors on west coast

People Guatemala

Population:
14,280,596 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.6% (male 3,118,396; female 2,970,729)
15-64 years: 54% (male 3,898,939; female 3,817,435)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 221,154; female 253,943) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.4 years
male: 18.1 years
female: 18.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.61% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
34.58 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-1.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 36.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 36.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 37.71 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.19 years
male: 64.3 years
female: 66.13 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.6 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AID