About The Country

Guatemala, country of Central America. The dominance of an Indian culture within its interior uplands distinguishes Guatemala from its Central American neighbours. The origin of the name Guatemala is Indian, but its derivation and meaning are undetermined. Some hold that the original form was Quauhtemallan (indicating an Aztec rather than a Mayan origin), meaning “land of trees,” and others hold that it is derived from Guhatezmalha, meaning “mountain of vomiting water”— referring no doubt to such volcanic eruptions as the one that destroyed Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala (modern-day Antigua Guatemala), the first permanent Spanish capital of the region’s captaincy general. The country’s contemporary capital, Guatemala City, is a major metropolitan centre; Quetzaltenango in the western highlands is the nucleus of the Indian population.

• Guatemala Means: Land of The Trees in the Maya-Toltec language.
• The Flag:blue and white stripes
• Location: Central America; borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador
• Climate: tropical: average temp.: 77-86 degrease Fahrenheit
• Language: Spanish as Official Language but also are spoken Quiche, Cakachiquel, Mam and Tzutujil.
• The Population: 60% of the population lives on the coastal plainand 40% lives in the mountians
• The Religion: Roman Catholicism
• The esimated population is 11,980,000 people
• The government: Democracy
• Less than 3% of people in Guatemala own cars
• basic money: quetzal- 100 centavos=1 quetzal 
• One of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere there are more services than goods
• Quetzal is the National Bird.
• highest elevation: Volcan Tajumulco:13,845 ft above sea level
• 61% of the people are rural and 39% of the people are urban
• Manufacturing: clothing, textiles, handicrafts, processed food and beverages
• Agriculture: banana, beans, beef cattle, cardamom, coffee, corn, cotton, and sugar cane

• The quetzal is the current monetary unit of legal use in Guatemala. 
• It was created when the Monetary Law of November 26, 1924 was issued by Decree number 879, during the government of President José María Orellana, the year in which it replaced the Guatemalan peso. 
• The quetzal is divided into one hundred cents. 
• Coins: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and Q1
• Banknotes: Q1, Q5, Q10, Q20, Q50, Q100, Q200
• Symbol: 
• Q-
• Exchange rate September 30, 2021: 1 USD = 7.73369 GTQ 1 EUR = 8.9588 GTQ
• ISO code: GTQ
• Fraction: 100 cents
• Country: Guatemala

Guatemala Time - is abbreviated as CST 

 All major credit cards are accepted in Guatemala, although MasterCard and Visa will give you the greatest coverage, while American Express and Diners Club are slightly less widely used and accepted. 

 U.S. citizens do not need a visa for a stay of 90 days or less. Visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (Spanish only) or contact the Guatemalan Embassy for the most current visa information. Guatemala is part of the “Central America-4 (CA-4) Border Control Agreement” with El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua