The highest population density in Central America
According to the latest census by INE - Institut National de la Statistique - Guatemala has a population of 14.901 million, more than half of whom - 51.52% - are women. With an average of 136.85 inhabitants per km² (compared with 119.93 inhabitants per km² in France), Guatemala is the most densely populated country in Central America. The population is very young - 44.66% are under 20 - and dynamic, with 97.30% of the working population in employment. Nevertheless, while 53.85% of the population lives in urban areas, they are unevenly distributed across the country, being particularly concentrated in the west, near the border with Mexico. Five of the 22 departments alone are home to 52.6% of the population:
Guatemala. Since it includes the capital, it's logical that it should be the most populous department in the country. It is home to some 3,155,081 inhabitants, representing 23.33% of the national population.
Alta Verapaz. Its capital, Cobán, is also its main city. A total of 1,215,038 people live in this department in the south of the Petén, representing 8.15% of the national population.
Huehuetenango. With 1,170,669 inhabitants, this department accounts for 7.87% of the Guatemalan population. Located in the northwest of the country, it was the capital of the Mam Maya before the Conquista.
San Marcos. Located in the west of the country, adjoining Huehuetenango, it is home to the San Antonio, Tacaná and Tajumulco volcanoes and, above all, 30 municipalities. Partly as a result, it is Guatemala's fourth most populous department, with 1,032,277 inhabitants, or 6.93% of the national population.
Quiché. Wedged between Huehuetenango and Alta Verapaz, it was inhabited by the ancient Quiché civilization before the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. Today, it is home to 949,261 inhabitants, or 6.32% of the country's population.
Five major ethnic groups
Ladinos. Descended from the Mayan and European - mostly Spanish - mix inherent in the Conquista, they make up 56% of the country's population. Over the generations, they have become shopkeepers, craftsmen or civil servants, and live almost exclusively in towns and small urban centers, particularly in the department of Guatemala, where they account for 85.5% of the population. Their language, Spanish, is the dominant one, spoken by 69.94% of the population throughout the country.
The Mayas. 6.2 million Mayas still live in Guatemala, representing 41.66% of the population. Alta Verapaz is the department where they are most present: 18.19% of them live there, and they make up 92.95% of the population. Of the department's population, 31.12% have never attended school. As a result, the Mayas are still almost exclusively peasants and "small" tradesmen, even if the 1980s saw the emergence of an elite - lawyers, doctors, etc. - who refused to turn their backs on the traditional way of life. - who refused to turn their backs on their roots to defend the rights of their communities. Of the 22 Mayan ethnolinguistic groups, the largest is the K'iche' - accounting for 27% of the Maya population - found mainly in Quiché and Totonicapán, in the west of the country, south of Huehuetenango. Next come the Q'eqchi' - 22% - mostly settled in Alta Verapaz, then the Kaqchikel - 17.21% - mostly settled in Chimaltenango, in the west of the department of Guatemala. Finally, there are the Mam, who account for 13.57% of the Maya population and are found mainly in Huehuetenango, San Marcos and Quetzaltenango. After Spanish, these four groups are the most widely spoken languages in Guatemala: together, they account for 23.42% of the population.
Xinkas. Mainly found in the south-east of the country, in the departments of Jalapa, Jutiapa, Santa Rosa and Guatemala City, they represent 1.77% of the Guatemalan population. Although they have their own linguistic group, as well as a rich history, the Xinkas are one of the least explored communities in the country. The first mention of their existence was made by Admiral Pedro de Alvarado in 1524, during the Conquista, when he described the invasion of Xinka territory by an army of 250 soldiers, 100 horses and 6,000 allied natives. Despite the hostage-taking of important chiefs and civilians, the population resisted by all means, giving rise to several movements to regain their freedom, between 1665 and 1666. The situation was such that these battles, as well as the mistreatment and forced labor to which the Xinkas were subjected, were reported by the ecclesiastical authorities to the Spanish kings. In vain: the population was considerably reduced and remained on the margins of society.
The Whites. More than half reside in the department of Guatemala and represent a total of 0.2% of the national population. Although extremely much in the minority, they wield a great deal of economic and political power, and are still at the head of vast farms where coffee, sugar cane and bananas are the main crops. They are the heirs of colonial society, during which the Spaniards established a caste system, with their descendants occupying the top of the pyramid.
The Garifunas. Although they account for 0.13% of the country's population, there are various explanations for their presence. Nevertheless, they all come together in one place: the Caribbean island of San Vicente. A fleet of shipwrecked sailors from the coast of Africa landed there around 1625, encountering the local population, the "Caribes rojos" - "Red Caribs". English settlers arrived in 1763 and expelled the Garifuna from the island in 1797, deporting them to Belize and Honduras. Various migratory movements due to the political climate of the time eventually led Garifunas from Roatán - an island in Honduras - to land on the banks of the Río Dulce, in eastern Guatemala, in what is now the town of Livingston, now steeped in their culture. It is therefore mainly in Izabal that the people are settled today, as well as in the department of Guatemala and Alta Verapaz.
