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Guatemala


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Guatemala

Land Area 107159km²
Land Area + Seaarea
Population 13824463
Population density 129.0 / km²

Informations

Guatemala ( (listen) GWAH-tə-MAH-lə; Spanish: [gwateˈmala] (listen)), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the West and North, Belize and the Caribbean into the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

With an estimated population of about 17.2 million, it's the most populous country in Central America. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also called Guatemala City. The core of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica, was based in the territory of modern Guatemala. In the 16th century, most of the region was conquered by the Spanish and claimed as part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Guatemala attained independence in 1821 as part of the Federal Republic of Central America, which dissolved by 1841. In the mid- to late-19th century, Guatemala suffered chronic instability and civil strife. Starting in the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by the United Fruit Company and the United States government. In 1944, the authoritarian leader Jorge Ubico was overthrown by a pro-democratic army coup, initiating a decade-long revolution that led to sweeping social and economic reforms. A U.S.-backed military coup in 1954 ended the revolution and installed a dictatorship.From 1960 to 1996, Guatemala endured a bloody civil war fought between the US-backed government and leftist rebels, including genocidal massacres of the Maya population perpetrated by the army. Since a United Nations-negotiated peace accord, Guatemala has achieved both economic growth and successful democratic elections, although it continues to struggle with high rates of poverty, crime, drug trade, and uncertainty. As of 2014, Guatemala ranks 31st of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries in terms of the Human Development Index.Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contains many endemic species and contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.

Source: Wikipedia