Guatemala

= Guatemala  =



=Geography= =Statistics= Definition: age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 69.1% Male: 75.4% Female: 63.3% (2002 census) (Found at cia.gov) Total: 11 years Male: 11 years Female: 10 years (2007) (Found at cia.gov) Degree of risk: high Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever Vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria Water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009) (Found at cia.gov) 0.6 beds/1,000 population (Found at cia.gov) 0.9 physicians/1,000 population
 * Located in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize.(Located at CIA.com)
 * The structural vulnerabilities in Guatemala, include limited land planning processes, poor economic and territorial development and the decline of existing ecosystems pose challenges to effective disaster recovery and preparedness.(Found from UNICEF.com)
 * The climate is tropical and hot. Humid in lowlands, but cooler in highlands.(Located at CIA.com)
 * Tropical Storm Agatha and the Pacaya volcanic eruption hit, causing US$1.5 billion in damage and loss to the country and affecting 911,000 people, nearly 4 per cent of the population.(Found at UNICEF.com)
 * Structural vulnerabilities including limited land planning processes, poor economic and territorial development and the decline of existing ecosystems pose challenges to effective disaster recovery and preparedness.(Found at UNICEF.com)
 * The irregular rains and unusually high temperatures have negatively affected crop production, heightening the population’s food insecurity and leading to high levels of under-nutrition.(Found at UNICEF.com)
 * The current environmental issues are deforestation in the Peten rainforest, soil erosion, and water pollution.(Located at CIA.com)
 * Natural Resources that can be found are petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, and hydro-power.(Located at CIA.com)
 * The Population of Guatemala is13,824,463. (Found at cia.gov)
 * The Unemployment Rate is 3.2%. (Found at cia.gov)
 * 68% of women in Guatemala are illiterate. (Found at savethechildren.org)
 * Guatemala has the highest rate of chronic malnutrition of children under five in all of Latin America. (Found at unicef.org)
 * These rates are alarming considering that chronic malnutrition is highest among indigenous populations, as is linked to stunted physical and mental development, contributes to poor educational outcomes, and limits income generation potential due to illness and decreased intellectual capacity. (Found at savethechildren.org)
 * 46% of the Guatemalan population is chronically malnourished. For children of indigenous families, the rate is almost 80%. (Found at savethechildren.org)
 * __Literacy Rate Percentages:__
 * 17.7% of children under the age of 5 are underweight. (Found at cia.gov)
 * __School Life Expectancy:__
 * Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under 1 year of age and accounts for 50 percent of the deaths of children under 5. (Found at savethechildren.org)
 * __Major Infectious Diseases:__
 * 2,600 people died from HIV/AIDS in Guatemala. (Found at cia.gov)
 * The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is only 0.8%. (Found at cia.gov)
 * 62,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Guatemala. (Found at cia.gov)
 * __Hospital Beds Per 1000 people:__
 * __Physicians Per 1000 people: [[image:http://oddemail.com/files/2010/08/sanpablolalagunaguatema-e1281800133768.jpg width="500" height="333" align="right"]]__

(Found at cia.gov) Total: 26.02 deaths/1,000 live births Male: 28.26 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) (Found at cia.gov) Total population: <span class="category_data">70.88 years Male: <span class="category_data">69.03 years Female: <span class="category_data">72.83 years (2011 est.) <span class="category_data">(Found at cia.gov) 110 deaths/100,000 live births (2008) (Found at cia.gov) 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (Found at cia.gov)
 * __Infant Mortality Rates:__
 * __Life Expectancy:__
 * __Birth to Mortality Rate:__
 * __Death Per 1000 People:__

**History**
 * During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees. (Found at www.cia.gov)
 * In 1996 it emerged from a 36-year-long civil war which pitted leftist, mostly Mayan insurgents against the army, which - backed by the US - waged a vicious campaign to eliminate the guerrillas. (Found at news.bbc.com)
 * Engineer and businessman Alvaro Colom narrowly won the presidential election in November 2007 as centre-left candidate of the National Unity for Hope (UNE). (Found at news.bbc.com)
 * Former army general Otto Perez Molina was elected Guatemala's new president in November 2011. Upon taking office on 14 January, he was set to be the first former military leader to become president in Guatemala after the end of the regimes of the 1970s and '80s. (Found at news.bbc.com)
 * After his election, Mr Perez promised to govern with an iron fist to reduce to half the homicide rate in a country living under the threat of gangs, organised crime and international drug traffickers. (Found at news.bbc.com)
 * While the national under five chronic malnutrition rate lies at approximately 49%, rates in Save the Children target areas reach as high as 78%. These rates are alarming considering that chronic malnutrition is highest among indigenous populations, as is linked to stunted physical and mental development, contributes to poor educational outcomes, and limits income generation potential due to illness and decreased intellectual capacity. (Found at www.savethechildren.org)
 * The structural vulnerabilities of Guatemala including limited land planning processes, poor economic and territorial development and the decline of existing ecosystems pose challenges to effective disaster recovery and preparedness. (Found at www.unicef.org)
 * Hurricanes Mitch and Stan left the people sick and homeless. (Found at www.savethechildren.org) Tropical Storm Agatha and the Pacaya volcanic eruption also hit, causing US$1.5 billion in damage and loss to the country and affecting 911,000 people, nearly 4 per cent of the population. (Found from www.unicef.org)
 * The El Niño phenomenon causes erratic rains that causes negative effects to the crop production, thus resulting in more hunger throughout the country. (Found at www.unicef.org)
 * The ongoing fighting with Belize also adds to the amounts of death and loss of land for Guatemala. (Found at news.bbc.com)

**Economics** US 36.8%, El Salvador 10.3%, Honduras 8.8%, Mexico 7.5% (2010) (Found at cia.gov) Coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom. (Found at cia.gov) Sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens. (Found at cia.gov) Agriculture: <span class="category_data">50% Industry: <span class="category_data">15% Services: <span class="category_data">35% (1999 est.) <span class="category_data">(Found at cia.gov) Fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity. (Found at cia.gov) Sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism (Found at cia.gov)
 * About 80 percent of Guatemalans live below the poverty line, less than half of all age-appropriate youth are enrolled in secondary schools, and nearly half of the labor force works in agriculture.(Found at heritage.org)
 * Guatemala participates in Petrocaribe, Venezuela’s long-term oil loans and subsidies program, but also values its strong ties with Mexico and the U.S.(Found at heritage.org)
 * Ongoing challenges to overall economic freedom in Guatemala include a relative lack of business freedom, weak respect for property rights, and widespread corruption.(Found at heritage.org)
 * __Export Partners:__
 * __Exports:__
 * __Agricultural Products:__
 * __Labor Force Percentages:__
 * __Imports:__
 * __Industries__
 * __GDP__- $70.15 billion (Found at cia.gov)
 * __GNI per capita__-$2,620 (Found at news.bbc.com)

**Quotes**
 * -All quotes taken from an interview with Julio Chohoy, an immigration expert for the Northwest Division of the Guatemalan Consulate in the United States.
 * "In <span class="search_hit">Guatemala we have now moved from a dictatorship to an attempt at democracy. The dictatorship evolved in the form of civil war in <span class="search_hit">Guatemala . This violence, which came from the military government of <span class="search_hit">Guatemala, caused people to seek political asylum in countries like Costa Rica, Canada, and here in the United States, as well." (found at.multicsd.org)
 * “One of the most important economic pillars of <span class="search_hit">Guatemala has become the money that is sent back from the U.S. There is an economic and financial crisis in <span class="search_hit">Guatemala, two of the big banks have closed and that has taken all of people’s savings with it. Another piece that is quite important and quite key to <span class="search_hit">Guatemala ’s economy is imports and exports. Right now what they are exporting is quite small compared to what they are importing." (found at.multicsd.org)

27 Feb. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.unicef.org/hac2011/hac_guatemala.php>. <http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6151425/> > <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1215758.stm>. 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. []. > more." //Conservative Policy Research and Analysis//. N.p., 2011. Web. 27 Nov. > 2011. <http://www.heritage.org/index/country/Guatemala>. > 2011. <http://www.multicsd.org/doku.php?id=guatemala>.
 * Bibliography **
 * "The Americas and Caribbean ." //UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children//. UNICEF,
 * "Guatemala." //Save the Children//. N.p., 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
 * "Guatemala Country profile." //BBC News// . BBC News, 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
 * "The World Fact Book." //Central Intelligence Agency//. Central Intelligence Agency,
 * "Guatemala information on economic freedom Facts, data, analysis, charts and
 * "History of Guatemala." //Multicultural Topics in CSD//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov.