| Introduction - Guatemala: |
| Location - Guatemala: |
| People - Guatemala: |
| Government - Guatemala: |
| Economy - Guatemala: |
Economy overview | Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. On 1 July 2006, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered in to force between the US and Guatemala. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit. Remittances from a large expatriate community that moved to the United States during the war have become the primary source of foreign income, exceeding the total value of exports and tourism combined. |
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Gdp purchasing power parity | $61.38 billion (2006 est.) |
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Gdp official exchange rate | $35.25 billion (2006 est.) |
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Gdp real growth rate | 4.6% (2006 est.) |
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Gdp per capita ppp | $5,000 (2006 est.) |
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Gdp composition by sector | agriculture: 22.1%
industry: 19.1%
services: 58.7% (2006 est.) |
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Labor force | 5.02 million (2005 est.) |
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Labor force by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.) |
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Unemployment rate | 3.2% (2005 est.) |
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Population below poverty line | 56.2% (2004 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 46% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income gini index | 59.9 (2005) |
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Inflation rate consumer prices | 5.8% (2006) |
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Investment gross fixed | 15.5% of GDP (2006 est.) |
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Budget | revenues: $3.84 billion
expenditures: $4.431 billion; including capital expenditures of $750 million (2006 est.) |
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Public debt | 18.6% of GDP (2006 est.) |
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Agriculture products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
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Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate | 3.6% (2006 est.) |
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Electricity production | 7.2 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity consumption | 6.625 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity exports | 335 million kWh (2005) |
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Electricity imports | 23 million kWh (2005) |
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Oil production | 16,370 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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Oil consumption | 73,510 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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Oil exports | 15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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Oil imports | 72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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Oil proved reserves | 526 million bbl (1 January 2005) |
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Natural gas production | 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
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Natural gas consumption | 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
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Natural gas proved reserves | 3.087 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) |
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Current account balance | -$1.533 billion (2006 est.) |
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Exports | $3.71 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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Exports commodities | coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom |
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Exports partners | US 45.2%, El Salvador 12.1%, Honduras 7.3% (2006) |
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Imports | $9.911 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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Imports commodities | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
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Imports partners | US 31.3%, Mexico 7.9%, China 6.1%, El Salvador 5%, South Korea 5%, Panama 4.6% (2006) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $4.061 billion (2006 est.) |
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Debt external | $3.908 billion (2006 est.) |
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Economic aid recipient | $250 million (2000 est.) |
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Currency code | quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed |
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Exchange rates | quetzales per US dollar - 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002) |
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| Communications - Guatemala: |
| Transportation - Guatemala: |
| Military - Guatemala: |
This page was last updated on 16 September, 2007
