Here's some background information on Guatemala to better familiarize you with the country.

Map of Guatemala

Physical Map of Guatemala

After being colonized in 1523 AD Guatemala spent three centuries as a Spanish colony until it won its independence in 1821.  Today it is a constitutional democratic republic whose President and chief of state is Otto Fernando Perez Molina and Vice President is Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elias.  

Located in Central America bordering the North Pacific Ocean between El Salvador and Mexico.  On the opposite side it borders the Gulf of Honduras between Honduras and Belize.  It is only slightly smaller than Tennessee and shares its largest border with Mexico.  It has approximately 400km of coastline.  Guatemala's climate is tropical, hot, humid in its lowlands, and cooler in the highlands.  As you can see in the physical map above it is a mostly mountainous terrain with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateaus.  Surprisingly enough there are no natural harbors on the west coast of Guatemala.  It is home to the highest point in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco, at 4,211 m.  Guatemala's natural resource include, but are not limited too, petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, and hydro-power.  

Guatemala has numerous active volcanoes in its mountain ranges so it suffers from occasional violent earthquakes.  Its Caribbean coast is extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms.  Guatemala is currently facing issues with deforestation of its Peten rain forest  soil erosion, and water pollution.  

Spanish is the official language of Guatemala making up 60% of all languages spoken there, whereas Amerindian languages make up the other 40%.  There are 23 officially recognized Amerindian languages including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca.  

Here's a 20 minute video about the struggle of the indigenious people of Guatemala, more specifically the Mayans, and their attempt to maintain their culture among the imposing Spanish one.

Guatemala is a predominantly poor country with the large indigenous part of the country disproportionately affected.  Guatemalans have a history of emigrating legally and illegally to Mexico, U.S., and Canada because of a lack of opportunity, political instability, etc.  Emigration, primarily to the U.S., escalated during the 1960-1996 civil war.  

This video showcases what you can buy in Guatemala for a dollar.



Much of this information on Guatemala was found using the CIA factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html