Guatemala is a Pacific, highland, and Maya country. It touches the Caribbean only on a small stretch of coast in the department of Izabal, between Belize and Honduras.
The Caribbean ports are Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomás de Castilla. The Caribbean culture is in Lívingston, a town reached only by boat. Lívingston is home to Guatemala's Garifuna, the same Afro-Indigenous people found in Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The coast is both Garifuna and Maya. The Q'eqchi' Maya live across the Izabal lowlands, so the culture is a mix of the two.
The way in is the Río Dulce. The river runs from Lake Izabal to the sea through a jungle gorge and ends at Lívingston.
Guatemala's Caribbean coast is small. It is Garifuna, and it shares the same sea as the rest of this shore.
Flag
Armorial
Word: Maya
Meaning: ancient civilization
Basic Information
Population: 18,687,881 (UN)
Area: 108,890 km² / 67,661 sq mi
Type: Country
Administrative Divisions
22 departments (departamentos)
- Alta Verapaz,
- Baja Verapaz,
- Chimaltenango,
- Chiquimula,
- El Progreso,
- Escuintla,
- Guatemala,
- Huehuetenango,
- Izabal,
- Jalapa,
- Jutiapa,
- Peten,
- Quetzaltenango,
- Quiche,
- Retalhuleu,
- Sacatepequez,
- San Marcos,
- Santa Rosa,
- Solola,
- Suchitepequez,
- Totonicapan,
- Zacapa
Climate
generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Economy
GDP per Capita: $6,810 (IMF)
GDP per Capita Position: 112
Currency: Quetzal
Currency Code: GTQ
LGBTI Rights
Legal Status: Legal (ILGA)
Legal Mechanism: Legislative
Death Penalty: No
Maximum Prison Sentence: No
Physical Punishment: No
Technical Information
TLD: .gt
MapGeo Name: Guatemala
MapGeo Code: GT
