| Economy | Guatemala |
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Economy - overview:
|
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 and half of the labor force; key agricultural exports include coffee, sugar, and bananas. 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 spurring increased investment and diversification of exports, with the largest increases in ethanol and non-traditional agricultural exports. While CAFTA has helped improve the investment climate, concerns over security, the lack of skilled workers and poor infrastructure continue to hamper foreign participation. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with more than half of the population below the national poverty line and 15% in extreme poverty. Guatemala has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, curtailing drug trafficking and rampant crime, and narrowing the trade deficit. President COLOM entered into office with the promise to increase education, healthcare, and rural development, and in April 2008 he inaugurated a conditional financial transfer program modeled after programs in Brazil and Mexico that provide financial incentives for poor families to keep their children in school. 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 turned negative in 2009 as export demand from US and other Central American markets contracted and foreign investment slowed amid the global recession and economic recovery will probably be negligible in 2010. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$69.22 billion (2009 est.)
$69.57 billion (2008 est.)
$66.89 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$5,200 (2009 est.)
$5,400 (2008 est.)
$5,300 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$36.47 billion (2009 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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-0.5% (2009 est.)
4% (2008 est.)
6.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 25.1%
services: 61.4% (2009 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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16.9% of GDP (2009 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%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 42.4% (2006) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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55.1 (2007)
55.8 (1998) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2.3% (2009 est.)
11.4% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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NA% NA% (31 December 2008)
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Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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13.39% (31 December 2008)
12.84% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$6.106 billion (31 December 2008)
$6.227 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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460 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$9.7 billion (31 December 2008)
$8.928 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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731 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$14.82 billion (31 December 2008)
$13.96 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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1,117 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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4.157 million (2009 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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31.31 % 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: $4.07 billion
expenditures: $5.563 billion (2009 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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307 USD per capita |
Public debt:
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32.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
25.7% 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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-1.4% (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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8.425 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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635 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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7.115 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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536 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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15,550 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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1,172 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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76,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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2.09 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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21,850 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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72,440 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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83.07 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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void |
Natural gas - consumption:
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0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2008 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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$-1.105 billion (2009 est.)
$-1.932 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
-83 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$6.768 billion (2009 est.)
$7.848 billion (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
510 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 39.4%, El Salvador 12.6%, Honduras 9.5%, Mexico 6.6%, Nicaragua 4.2%, Costa Rica 4.1% (2008) |
Imports:
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$10.91 billion (2009 est.)
$13.42 billion (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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822 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 36.7%, Mexico 9.7%, China 5.8%, El Salvador 4.8% (2008) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$4.709 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$4.471 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
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355 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
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$7.489 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$6.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
565 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$NA |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
|
void |
Economic aid - donor:
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void |
Economic aid - recipient:
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$253.6 million |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
20 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed |
Exchange rates:
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quetzales (GTQ) per US dollar - 8.1613 (2009), 7.5895 (2008), 7.6833 (2007), 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005) |
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
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