| Economy | Guatemala |
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Economy - overview:
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Guatemala is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-tenth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products, with sugar exports benefiting from increased global demand for ethanol. 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. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered into force in July 2006 and has since spurred increased investment in the export sector, but concerns over security, the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continued to hamper foreign participation. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with more than half of the population below the national poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, curtailing drug trafficking and rampant crime, and narrowing the trade deficit. Given Guatemala's large expatriate community in the United States, it is the top remittance recipient in Central America, with inflows serving as a primary source of foreign income equivalent to nearly two-thirds of exports. Economic growth will slow in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets drop and foreign investment slows amid the global slowdown. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$68.02 billion (2008 est.)
$65.53 billion (2007)
$62 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$5,200 (2008 est.)
$5,100 (2007 est.)
$5,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$36.28 billion (2008 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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3.8% (2008 est.)
5.7% (2007 est.)
5.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 13.2%
industry: 25.8%
services: 61% (2008 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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20.3% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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56.2% (2004 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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55.1 (2007) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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12.2% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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NA |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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12.84% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$6.227 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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470 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$8.928 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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673 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$13.96 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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1,052 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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4.054 million (2008 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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30.54 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
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3.2% (2005 est.) |
Budget:
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revenues: $4.944 billion
expenditures: $5.647 billion (2008 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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373 USD per capita |
Public debt:
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23.7% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Industries:
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sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism |
Industrial production growth rate:
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3.5% (2008 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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7.643 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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576 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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6.617 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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499 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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131.9 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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8.11 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Oil - production:
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15,820 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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1,192 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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74,230 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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2.04 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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83.07 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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void |
Natural gas - consumption:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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void |
Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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2.96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens |
Current account balance:
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-$3.316 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-249 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$8.028 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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605 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom |
Exports - partners:
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US 42.2%, El Salvador 9.6%, Honduras 8.6%, Mexico 6.5%, Costa Rica 4.5% (2007) |
Imports:
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$15.42 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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1,162 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity |
Imports - partners:
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US 34.9%, Mexico 9.9%, China 6.8%, El Salvador 4.6%, Costa Rica 4.1% (2007) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$4.229 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
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319 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
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$6.337 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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478 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$NA |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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void |
Economic aid - donor:
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void |
Economic aid - recipient:
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$253.6 million (2005 est.) |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
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20 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
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quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed |
Exchange rates:
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quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 7.5895 (2008 est.), 7.6833 (2007), 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004) |
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
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