Guatemala Facts

One of the most populous countries in Central America, Guatemala, is the land of trees and mountains. In fact the name Guatemala means 'land of trees'. Thousands of years ago this was a land inhabited by the ancient civilization of the Maya and today most people of Guatemala are descendants of this ancient civilization and they live in the western parts of the country. The rest of the population is made up of the Ladinos, or a mixture of the Maya and the Spanish civilization. The capital of this country is Guatemala City and the currency is the Quetzal which is divided into 100 centavos. US dollars are also used here as national currency. If you are planning to visit this country of the ancient Mayas, then you should know some interesting facts about Guatemala, which will help you learn more about this beautiful country.

Interesting Facts and Information

Before visiting any new place it's always best to know more about the past and the present of the country, about its people, their government, things the country is popular for, and so on. Knowing all these facts, makes your travel easier as well as interesting. Here are some facts about Guatemala, which I am sure is going to help you learn more about the land of trees.

• Guatemala is a country located in Central America, sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It has an area of 108,890 square kilometers and it's capital is Guatemala City. Some other important cities in this country are Escuintla and Quetzaltenango.
• It is mainly a mountainous region except for the southern coastal area and the lowlands of Peten, which is located in the northern part of the country. The largest lake in this country is Lago de Izabal near the Caribbean coast.
• The countries bordering Guatemala are Mexico in the north as well as in the west, while Belize, El Salvador and Honduras are located on the eastern side.
• The next thing that everyone wants to know is the climate of the region. Well, it has a hot tropical climate and it gets drier as one moves to the eastern side and more temperate in the highlands.
• Facts of no country can be complete without learning about the history. The history of Guatemala goes back to the Maya civilization, and then came the Spanish in the year 1524 and later in the year 1839, with the fall of the United Provinces of Central America, Guatemala became a republic.
• The official language of this country is Spanish and besides that, 21 Mayan languages as well as non-Mayan languages are also spoken here.
• Another fact about Guatemala is the population. Most of the population are made up by the Ladinos and then comes the Whites which consists of people of British, Spanish, German, Scandinavian and Italian origin.
• This country has around 252 listed wetlands and around 100 rivers and 5 lakes, 60 lagoons and 3 to 4 swamps. The main rivers flowing through this country are Montague, Dulce, Usumcinta, Polochc and Sarstun.
• There is no such national religion in this country, but the main religions followed, along with ancient beliefs of Mayan Culture, is Christianity, Roman Catholic, as well as Protestant. The literacy rate of this country for males is around 76% while for females is around 65%.
• Guatemala is also known for their hand woven Indian textiles as well as their potteries and wooden carvings. They are also good musicians and they are also known for their self made music instruments. The people here are crazy about football and side by side they also enjoy cycling as well as basketball, volleyball and dodge ball.
• If you are looking for the best Guatemalan food, then you should try out the Guatemalan Tostadas, as well as fried corn tortillas.
• Let us now come to some agricultural facts about Guatemala. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people from Guatemala and they mainly grow coffee, sugar and bananas.
• Once in Guatemala, you can also visit several libraries and museums like the National Archive, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, the National Library etc.

These were some of the important facts and history, which I hope you found interesting, and hope you learned something about this country. Next time you visit this place these facts are sure to help you a lot.