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Culture at a glance: Guatemala

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Location

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General facts

  • The name "Guatemala" comes from the Nahuatl word Cuauhtēmallān (nahwiki), or "place of many trees", a derivative of the K'iche' Mayan word for "many trees”

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  • Guatemala is divided in 22 departments

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  • Capital: Guatemala City

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  • Currency: Quetzal
    • Exchange Rate: $1 USD = 7.71 GTQ

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National Flower: La Monja Blanca

Coats of Arms

National Tree: La Ceiba

National Bird: Quetzal

Guatemalan Flag

Patriotic Symbols

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Geography

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  • Area: 42,042 square miles
  • Terrain: mountainous with small patches of desert and sand dunes, all hilly valleys, except for the south coast and the vast northern lowlands of Petén department.
  • Guatemala is bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. A string of volcanic peaks runs down the country’s center, extending east to west from El Salvador to Mexico.
  • Borders: north with Mexico, south with El Salvador, east with Honduras and west with Belize

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Demography

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  • Population: 17,2 millions (unevenly distributed)

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  • Race and Ethnicity:
    • 56.01% Ladino
    • 41.66% Maya
    • 1.77% Xinca
    • 0.19% Afro-Guatemalan
    • 0.13% Garifuna
    • 0.24% Foreign

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  • Main Ethnic Groups
    • Maya people K’iche’
    • Q’eqchi Kaqchikel
    • Mam Other Non-mayan

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Climate

Cultural Competence

  • Guatemala has a tropical climate, and weather that is largely determined by geography and altitude. The highlands tend to be cooler than the coastal areas and lowlands.

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  • The hottest areas are near the coasts and in the lowlands. These tend to have an average annual temperature around 80°F. At higher elevations the temperature averages 40°F (4°C).

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Guatemala’s official language is spanish but due to the various ethnic groups that live in the country, it also possesses multiple indigenous dialects that have been preserved through oral tradition.

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Twenty-one Mayan languages are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as two non-Mayan Amerindian languages: Xinca, which is indigenous to the country, and Garifuna, an Arawakan language spoken on the Caribbean coast.

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Language

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Economy

Coffee

2

7.91%

Bananas

1

13.8%

Knit Sweaters

3

6.9%

Raw Sugar

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4.58%

Main Exports

Refined Petroleum

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13.5%

Broadcasting equipment

3

1.61%

Packaged Medicaments

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1.60%

Cars

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2.62%

Main Imports

Data take from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (2018)

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Cultural Competence

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Economy

$14.8B

Product

Imports

$130 B

$7509

$9.79 B

Product

Exports

GDP Growth

GDP Per Capita

Data take from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (2018)

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Religion

  • Predominantly Roman Catholic
  • Protestant minority
  • Influences from European and African settlers, missionaries, soldiers, and traders have made today's religions a composite of traditional beliefs and practices with those of Catholicism or a Protestant denomination
  • Patron saint of the armed forces is La Virgen del Rosario

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Sources

  • Observatory of Economic Development. (2018). Obtained from https://oec.world/en/profile/country/gtm

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  • Caribbean Insider.(n.d) Obtained from http://www.caribeinsider.com/en/atributosnacionalesen/504

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  • Anywhere. (n.d). Obtained from

https://www.anywhere.com/guatemala/travel-guide/geography-climate

Cultural Competence