Guatemala Travel Overview
Important facts
Capital: Guatemala (See more on SIMPLYYELLOWPAGES.COM)
Official language: Spanish
Currency: Quetzal
Continent: Central North America
The land of eternal spring
Between Mayan ruins, rainforests and black sand beaches. Guatemala offers many attractions for those who go on the trip.
Location
According to Countryaah, Guatemala is in Central America. The state borders Mexico and Belize to the north and Honduras and El Salvador to the south.
Region
The country is very interesting for tourists due to its diversity of landscapes. In the north there are Mayan sites in the middle of rainforests, the highlands are characterized by volcanoes, which are up to 4000 meters high, the Pacific coast is known for its dark sandy beaches and on the Caribbean coast is the beautiful lake Lado de Izabal.
Useful information
The official language is, as in most countries of the region Spanish. You should at least have basic knowledge, otherwise long communication problems can arise.
Do not stow any valuable items in your backpack during a bus trip, as large items of luggage are attached to the roof racks. In addition to buses, the country is also served by a rail network.
Currency
Currency (sub-unit)
Quetzal (100 Centavos)
ISO 4217 code
GTQ / 320
Geography
Continent: North America
Region: medium
Geo coordinates: N 15 ° 47 ‘0.5 ” W -90 ° -13’ -50.7″
Highest mountain: Volcan Tajumulco (4,211 m)
Total area: 108,890 km²
Mainland: 108,430 km²
National border: 1,687 km
Coastline: 400 km
Politics
Dependency: Spain until 1821
UN member since: 1945
Other political affiliation: Organization of American States
Form of government: Presidential Republic
Houses of Parliament: unikameral
Party system: Multi-party system
State building: decentralized
Political culture: Subject culture
Particularities: overall weak state institutions; lack of rule of law; widespread corruption; strong social division between Ladinos and indígenas, as well as urban and rural residents, also large poverty gap; politically motivated violence and high murder rate
Economy
Export goods: Coffee, cotton, sugar
BSP: $ 28,661,000,000
GDP: $ 27,123,000,000
GDP purchasing power parity: $ 57 billion
Economic growth: 3.7%
Inflation rate: 11%
Unemployment: 7.2%
State budget revenue: $ 3702000000
State budget expenditure: $ 4294967295
National debt: 27.2%
Export: $ 4,382,000,000
Import: $ 8.546 billion
Foreign debt: $ 5,744,000,000
Gold and currency reserves: $ 3,927,000,000
Electricity consumption: 6,706 million KWh
Gas reserves: 3,087 million m³
Oil reserves: 263 million m³
Oil production: 22,900 million m³
Oil consumption: 74,000 million m³
Cultivation area: 19.02%
Bovine: 2,690,000 pieces
Pigs: 730,000 pieces
Fishing: 15,400 t
Demographic data
Residents: 12,293,600
Residents in cities: 6,741,000
Minorities: 40% indigenous peoples
Average age: 18.9 years
0-14 years: 41.1%
15-64 years: 55.5%
> 65 years: 3.4%
Population growth: 2.27%
Birth rate: 29.88 / 1,000 residents
Death rate: 5.2 / 1,000 residents
Migration: -1.94 / 1,000 residents
Ratio men / women: 0.99
Fertility: 3.82 children / woman
Infant mortality: 30.44 ‰
Life expectancy men: 67.65 years
Life expectancy women: 71.18 years
Country codes and abbreviations
ISO 3166 Alpha 2: GT
ISO 3166 Alpha 3: GTM
ISO 3166 numeric: 320
Top Level Domain: gt
IOC country code: GUA
UN / LOCODE: GT
Source: Abbreviationfinder
Communication
Telephone connections: 1,190,000
Cell Phones: 2,730,000
Radios: 1,350,000
TV: 804,000
Computer: 254,000
Internet users: 1,110,000
Transportation
Railway lines: 886 km
Paved roads: 5,496 km
of which expressways: 101 km
Cars: 699,000
Pipelines: 480
Health
Number of doctors: 12,290
Daily food intake: 2,340 kcal / resident
HIV- infected people: 93,000
education
Illiteracy: 25%
History
Foundation: 900
Last sovereign since: 1821
Religion
Main religious group: Christians
Crime
Prison inmates: 8,900
Military
Armed forces (troop strength): 31,000
Defense Spending: $ 163.4 million
GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
Flights are operated by Avianca (AV), Lufthansa (LH) (Internet: www.lufthansa.de), Austrian Airlines (OS) (Internet: www.aua.com) and Swiss International (LX) (Internet: www.swiss.com) in cooperation with other airlines, Aeromexico (AM) (Internet: www.aeromexico.com), American Airlines (AA) (Internet: www.aa.com) , Iberia (IB) and United Airlines (UA) (Internet: www.united.com). Iberia (Internet:www.iberia.de) flies directly from Madrid to Guatemala City. United Airlines (UA) flies from Zurich and Geneva via Washington-Dulles to Guatemala City.
Departure fee
US $ 30.
Arrival by car
The Panamericana runs from Mexico through Guatemala and El Salvador to South America. Additional connections exist from Cancun, San Cristobal Las Casas and Tapachula (all Mexico). Other highways lead from El Salvador and Honduras to Guatemala. Caution should be exercised due to possible robberies, criminal roadblocks and car theft, especially on the southern side of Lake Atitlan and the Panajachel-Guatemala road. Long- distance bus: There are bus connections with Ticabus (Internet: www.ticabus.com) from Guatemala to the neighboring states. You have to expect long waiting times at border crossings. Advance booking is required.
Arriving by train
There is currently no rail traffic.
Arrival by ship
International cruise lines including Norwegian Cruise Line (Internet: www.ncl.de), Holland America Line (Internet: www.hollandamerica.com), Radisson Seven Seas (Internet: www.rssc.com), Silversea Cruises (Internet: www.silversea .com) travel from North America, the Far East and Europe to Santo Tomás de Castilla and Puerto Quetzal.
ON THE GO
Traveling by plane
With more than 380 runways, the airplane is the most reliable means of transportation. Avianca (AV) offers scheduled flights to several cities. There are also private charter planes.
On the way by car / bus
The road network covers approximately 13,000 km, but only 3,117 km are paved and weatherproof. Many roads have a surface covering of volcanic ash that softens during the rainy season. There are several major roads, including expressways that connect Guatemala City to the major cities and ports on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Due to the activity of criminal gangs, special caution is required (for more information see Travel – International). Bus: Long-distance buses are inexpensive, but often overcrowded. Rental car:Various international companies offer their services. Prices are low, insurance is charged extra. You can also rent motorbikes. Inadequate road signs make orientation difficult. Taxi: There are standard fares in cities, but they are sometimes quite high. Taxis can also be hired by the hour. Licensed taxis can be recognized by license plates that begin with an “A” and the number on the doors. There are usually only taxi ranks in front of larger hotels. Taxis can either be pre-booked by phone or hailed in the street. Documents: A driver’s license for Guatemala will be issued upon presentation of the national driver’s license.
Traveling in the city
Guatemala City and other larger cities have a limited but inexpensive bus network.