Guatemala 🇬🇹
Guatemala is a country in North America with a population of 17,843,908. Its capital is Guatemala City. The official currency is GTQ, and the main languages are Spanish.
Quick facts
- Capital: Guatemala City
- Continent: North America
- Population: 17,843,908
- Area: 108,889 km²
- Density: 164 people per km²
- Currency: GTQ
- Languages: Spanish
- ISO code: GT
Where Guatemala sits
Guatemala 🇬🇹 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at Guatemala City. It covers 108,889 square kilometres — 105th in the world — and is home to about 17,843,908 people, 68th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Haiti and Dominican Republic. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Guatemala compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Guatemala sits closest to Chad and Ecuador. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Cuba and Bulgaria.
At 164 people per square kilometre it is about 2.8 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries here, among them Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, and 15 others. The GTQ is used by Guatemala and no one else.
To see Guatemala next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Guatemala
The capital is simply the country's name plus 'City': Guatemala City. For the flag, find the bird: Guatemala's blue-white-blue flag has a green quetzal on the coat of arms, and the quetzal is also the name of the money.
The flag of Guatemala: light blue and white
🇬🇹 The flag is three vertical stripes of light blue, white and light blue, with the coat of arms in the centre showing a quetzal bird, a scroll, crossed rifles and swords, and a laurel wreath. The two blue stripes stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for peace and purity. The scroll carries the date of independence from Spain, 15 September 1821, and the quetzal is the national bird.
Region and neighbours
Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, just south of Mexico, with coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It shares land borders with 4 countries: Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.
- Mexico 🇲🇽 — capital Mexico City
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Honduras 🇭🇳 — capital Tegucigalpa
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
Three facts about Guatemala
- Volcán Tajumulco, about 4,220 m high, is the highest point in Central America.
- Tikal, a great Maya city hidden in the rainforest, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The city of Antigua Guatemala was the capital of Spanish Central America from 1543 to 1773.
Sources: Wikipedia: Guatemala, Wikipedia: Flag of Guatemala, Wikipedia: Guatemala City, Wikipedia: Tikal, Wikipedia: Antigua Guatemala, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Guatemala
- North American capitals quiz — match Guatemala to Guatemala City
- North American flags quiz — spot the Guatemala flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Guatemala
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Guatemala those are:
- North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- North America capitals quiz — match it to Guatemala City
- Guatemala capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Guatemala
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Guatemala
- Capital of Guatemala: Guatemala City — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 23 countries of North America
Nearby countries
- Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
- Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
- Barbados 🇧🇧 — capital Bridgetown
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
- Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
- Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
- Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
- Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 — capital Santo Domingo
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
- Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
- Haiti 🇭🇹 — capital Port-au-Prince
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Guatemala flag?
The flag of Guatemala is three vertical stripes of light blue, white and light blue, with the coat of arms in the centre showing a quetzal bird, a scroll, crossed rifles and swords, and a laurel wreath. The two blue stripes stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and the white for peace and purity. The scroll carries the date of independence from Spain, 15 September 1821, and the quetzal is the national bird.
Which countries border Guatemala?
Guatemala shares land borders with Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.
How can I remember the capital of Guatemala?
The capital is simply the country's name plus 'City': Guatemala City. For the flag, find the bird: Guatemala's blue-white-blue flag has a green quetzal on the coat of arms, and the quetzal is also the name of the money.