| Economy - overview | Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. On 1 July 2006, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered in to force between the US and Guatemala. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit. Remittances from a large expatriate community that moved to the United States during the war have become the primary source of foreign income, exceeding the total value of exports and tourism combined. |
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| GDP | 0.4% (2006) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 22.1%
industry: 19.1%
services: 58.7% (2006 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 56.2% (2004 est.) |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 46% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 59.9 (2005) |
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| Labor force | 5.02 million (2005 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.) |
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| Unemployment rate | 3.2% (2005 est.) |
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| Budget | revenues: $3.84 billion
expenditures: $4.431 billion; including capital expenditures of $750 million (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 3.6% (2006 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 7.2 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 51.9%
hydro: 35.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 12.9% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 6.625 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity -
exports | 335 million kWh (2005) |
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Electricity -
imports | 23 million kWh (2005) |
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| Oil - production | 16,370 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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| Oil - consumption | 73,510 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | 15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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| Oil - imports | 72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
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| Oil - proved reserves | 263 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
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| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
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| Exports | $3.71 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom |
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| Exports - partners | US 50.1%, El Salvador 12.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4% (2005) |
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| Imports | $9.911 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
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| Imports - partners | US 38.1%, Mexico 7.6%, El Salvador 4.8%, South Korea 4.8%, Panama 4.4% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $3.908 billion (2006 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $250 million (2000 est.) |
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| Currency code | GTQ; USD |
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| Exchange rates | quetzales per US dollar - 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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