The Republic of Guatemala extends for , km 2. In , the country was divided politically and administratively into 22 departments and municipalities. In , it had a population of 16,, 1 , with a density of inhabitants per km 2. These latter three, located in the mountainous Northwest Altiplano region, have the greatest population densitiesβ, , and inhabitants per km 2 , respectivelyβthat is, three to five times the national average. In the groups aged 15 and older, the percentages grew; for example, the population over 64 years of age rose from 4.
The departments in the north and west reported higher percentages of people under 18, while those in the east and south had relatively lower percentages of people under In , its population structure displayed a rapidly expanding pyramidal shape, with a predominance of age groups under the age of This growth continued in , although with a widespread slowdown in the under age groups, related to the decline in fertility and mortality, especially in the past two decades.
Review New York Life expectancy at birth in was 68 years for men and 75 for women 2. With respect to social assistance, social security coverage was low. It was estimated that in , annual per capita alcohol consumption among adults and older persons was 5 liters for men and 1. Furthermore, Although Spanish is the official language, 22 languages and their various dialects are spoken by ethnic Mayans, and the Garifuna and Xinca speak their own languages.
Most of the indigenous population is monolingual. This is particularly true in the case of women. Literacy among rural women was Indigenous women, with a literacy rate of The National Employment and Income Survey of found that This percentage was The main activities are farming The economically active population numbers 6.
The incidence of poverty is systematically higher in indigenous populations. Poverty has likewise been historically higher in rural areas than in urban areas, although the gap has been narrowing: in , the rural poverty rate was Most of the departments with a poverty level above the national average are in the northwest; those with largely indigenous, rural, and denser populations are in the east Figure 2 8. In , the extreme poverty rate in the general population was The extreme poverty rate in the indigenous population was In recent years, Guatemala has been hit by volcanic eruptions, droughts, and storms.
