Guatemala
population: Natl annual projection (1 Jul 2026) · indicators as of 2026-09-05 · 8 metros tracked
🗺️ Geography8 metros
Guatemala metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.
Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.
🏙️ 8 tracked metros
| Metro | State | Tier | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #620 | Guatemala City★ Capital▲ Largest | Guatemala (San Miguel Petapa) | 4.0M | 3.5 | Emerging Metro |
| #1426 | Flores | Petén | 45K | 0.9 | Local Metro |
| #2292 | Quetzaltenango | Quetzaltenango | 923K | 0.3 | Local Metro |
| #2873 | Chimaltenango | Chimaltenango | 759K | 0.3 | Local Metro |
| #2958 | Cobán | Alta Verapaz (San Agustín Lanquín) | 557K | 0.2 | Local Metro |
| #2986 | Sololá | Sololá | 481K | 0.2 | Local Metro |
| #3003 | Chiquimula | Chiquimula | 453K | 0.2 | Local Metro |
| #4297 | San José, El Petén | Petén | 7K | 0.0 | Local Metro |
🗂️ Departments
22 entries listed under Guatemala. Click any to see its metros and footprint.
📋 At a glance
- Official language
- Spanish
- Currency
- Quetzal (GTQ)
- Government
- Representative democracy
- Legislature
- Congress of the Republic of Guatemala
- Constitution
- 1985, 2 amendment events since
- Demonym
- Guatemalan
- Time zone
- UTC−06:00
- Driving side
- Right
- Calling code
- +502
- Internet TLD
- .gt
- ISO 3166
- GT
- Established
- 1821
- Highest point
- Volcán Tajumulco (4,203 m (13,789 ft))
- National anthem
- National Anthem of Guatemala
Facts via Wikidata.
💹 Economy and developmentUpper middle income
Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.
Alliances & Organisations3 full memberships
Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer
🏛️ Leadership History21 leaders · click to expand
marks a leader associated with atrocities or defiance of law, systemic subversion of democratic institutions, or a criminal conviction. Convictions arising from political persecution, and annulled convictions, are excluded. denotes a monarch. These are editorial designations, applied per entry rather than derived automatically.
Other
Bernardo Arévalo de León✦ Current
2024–PresentPresident
Alejandro Giammattei
2020–2024President
Jimmy Morales
2016–2020President
Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre
2015–2016President
Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre
2015–2016Prime Minister
Otto Pérez Molina
2012–2015President
Otto Pérez Molina
2012–2015Prime Minister
Álvaro Colom
2008–2012President
Óscar Berger
2004–2008President
Óscar Berger
2004–2008Prime Minister
Alfonso Portillo
2000–2004President
Alfonso Portillo
2000–2004Prime Minister
Show all 14 leaders
Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen
1996–2000President
Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen
1996–2000Prime Minister
| Name | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Bernardo Arévalo de León✦ Current | President | 2024–Present |
| Alejandro Giammattei | President | 2020–2024 |
| Jimmy Morales | President | 2016–2020 |
| Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre | President | 2015–2016 |
| Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre | Prime Minister | 2015–2016 |
| Otto Pérez Molina | President | 2012–2015 |
| Otto Pérez Molina | Prime Minister | 2012–2015 |
| Álvaro Colom | President | 2008–2012 |
| Óscar Berger | President | 2004–2008 |
| Óscar Berger | Prime Minister | 2004–2008 |
| Alfonso Portillo | President | 2000–2004 |
| Alfonso Portillo | Prime Minister | 2000–2004 |
| Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen | President | 1996–2000 |
| Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen | Prime Minister | 1996–2000 |
Republic of Guatemala
⚠️ Carlos Castillo Armas
1954–1996President
Jacobo Árbenz
1951–1954President
Juan José Arévalo
1945–1951President
⚠️ Jorge Ubico
1931–1945President
⚠️ Manuel Estrada Cabrera
1898–1931President
Justo Rufino Barrios
1873–1898President
Rafael Carrera
1844–1873President
| Name | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| ⚠️ Carlos Castillo Armas | President | 1954–1996 |
| Jacobo Árbenz | President | 1951–1954 |
| Juan José Arévalo | President | 1945–1951 |
| ⚠️ Jorge Ubico | President | 1931–1945 |
| ⚠️ Manuel Estrada Cabrera | President | 1898–1931 |
| Justo Rufino Barrios | President | 1873–1898 |
| Rafael Carrera | President | 1844–1873 |
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.
⚔️ Conflicts since 19454 interstate wars · click to expand
| Conflict | Years | Against | Combat deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemalan Civil War● | 1960–1996 | Mano Blanca,United States (1962–1996),Argentina (1976–1983) | — |
| Barrios' War of Reunification | 1885 | El Salvador,Mexico,Costa Rica,Nicaragua | — |
| Campaign of 1856–57 | 1856–1857 | Republic of Sonora,Nicaragua | — |
| Filibuster War | 1856–1857 | Legitimistas (conservative party),Democráticos (liberal party),United States (naval support) | — |
Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”
👥 Population over time
Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.
👥 To 2100
The UN’s probabilistic projection for Guatemala: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.
Tap or drag across the chart to read any year: the estimate to 2023, then the UN median, its bands and the scenarios.
What drives it
Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.
Show all 16 decades
Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.
🏆 National Teams
Guatemala on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.
National Teams Champions
Every major championship won by Guatemala's national teams, newest first. 1 in total.
| Year | Date | Champion | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 1967-03-19 | Guatemala | CONCACAF Championship |
