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Guatemala
General InformationWhile Guatemala is the largest Central American country in terms of population (13.8 million) and economic activity, its largely rural, Mayan population live in extremely difficult conditions.
Distribution of land, income and other wealth is controlled by a small percentage of Guatemala’s Spanish-speaking population. An estimated 75% of Guatemalans live in poverty, and the roughly 5 million Mayans are isolated socially, economically and politically due to geographic and language barriers, as well as the lack of educational and economic opportunity. The country’s social indicators are among the worst in the hemisphere. Overall adult literacy is estimated at 70 percent, but literacy among Mayan women is estimated as low as 30 percent. Less than half of rural Guatemalans have access to running water, only a quarter have access to electricity and less than one in ten have access to modern sanitation facilities. Infant, child and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in Latin America. HistoryThe Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees. Fast Facts
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