Formerly a Spanish colony, Guatemala became an autonomous republic in 1839. In 1954, President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, the promoter of land reform, was toppled by a military coup d’état and since then there has been a succession of various dictatorial regimes that have repressed every movement for reform, clashing with armed guerrillas, led mostly by the natives.
In 1985, civilian government returned, but the military continued conditioning the political life of the country. Guerrilla warfare resumed, except for brief interruptions, until the signing of the peace agreement on 29 December 1996 between the government and the URNG (National Guatemalan Revolutionary Union).
On the basis of the Constitution of 14 January 1986, amended in 1993, the President of the Republic is elected by direct suffrage for a four-year term and cannot be re-elected; the body of legislative power is the Congress of the Republic (158 members elected for four years).

Population by age and gender (% - 2017)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

Migration to the USA is very high (where there is a Guatemalan community of over one million people).

Primary sector.
The most common crop is maize, of fundamental importance for local nutrition (as are potatoes and beans). The best farming land is destined for plantations coffee, bananas and sugar cane), controlled by foreign companies. Industrial maize and cane sugar crops have undergone considerable expansion following a demand for raw material to produce biofuel. Building timber (mahogany and cedar), rubber and chicle come from the Petén forests. Cattle are raised above all on the Pacific coast and in the Petén.

Secondary sector.
Important mineral resources are antimony and oil (wells at Rubelsanto, in Upper Verapaz and in the Petén); silver, gold, lead and zinc are also mined. There are textile plants (cotton mills in the capital and at Cantél-Quetzaltenango) and food industries (sugar-refineries). There is also an oil refinery at Puerto Barrios as well as chemical and petrochemical plants, cement (near the capital and at Sanarate), tobacco and paper factories.

Tertiary sector.
The economy depends on exports (plantation crops, sugar and ethanol), especially towards the USA, and on remittances from migrant workers.

Tourism. Tourism is the second most important source of revenue (after coffee). The main tourist attractions are the archaeological sites at Tikal, Uaxactún, Piedras Negras, Naranjo and Holmul.