World Factbook
Guatemala
República de Guatemala
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
86.9% (2024 est.)
female
78.5% (2024 est.)
total population
82.1% (2024 est.)
Languages
note
note: the 2003 Law of National Languages officially recognized 23 indigenous languages, including 21 Maya languages, Xinca, and Garifuna
Languages
Spanish (official) 69.9%, Maya languages 29.7% (Q'eqchi' 8.3%, K'iche 7.8%, Mam 4.4%, Kaqchikel 3%, Q'anjob'al 1.2%, Poqomchi' 1%, other 4%), other 0.4% (includes Xinca and Garifuna) (2018 est.)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Evangelical 45.7%, Roman Catholic 42.4%, none 11%, unspecified 0.9% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.97 male(s)/female
total population
0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.8 male(s)/female
Birth rate
17.12 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
24.2 years
total
26.7 years (2025 est.)
female
25.4 years
Population
male
9,050,684
total
18,255,216 (2024 est.)
female
9,204,532
Nationality
noun
Guatemalan(s)
adjective
Guatemalan
Tobacco use
male
22.5% (2025 est.)
total
11.8% (2025 est.)
female
1.5% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
53.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
31.5% (male 2,925,079/female 2,819,927)
15-64 years
63.2% (male 5,688,500/female 5,839,958)
65 years and over
5.4% (2024 est.) (male 437,105/female 544,647)
Ethnic groups
Mestizo (mixed Indigenous-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Maya 41.7%, Xinca (Indigenous, non-Maya) 1.8%, African descent 0.2%, Garifuna (mixed West and Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak) 0.1%, foreign 0.2% (2018 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
9.6% (2015)
women married by age 15
6.2% (2015)
women married by age 18
29.5% (2015)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
58.3 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
49.8 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
11.7 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
8.5 (2024 est.)
Physician density
1.28 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.9% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
16.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
0.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.97 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 91% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 94.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 5.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.1% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
17.3% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
28.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
23.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
21.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.99% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.96 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the vast majority of the populace resides in the southern half of the country, particularly in the mountainous regions; more than half of the population lives in rural areas
Life expectancy at birth
male
71.5 years
female
75.6 years
total population
73.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
94 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 68.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 80.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 91.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 31.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 19.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 8.6% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.095 million GUATEMALA CITY (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
21.2% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.6 years (2014/15 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
56.2% (2018 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
14.4% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
10 years (2023 est.)
total
11 years (2023 est.)
female
11 years (2023 est.)