Guatemala Economy 2007

Economy - overview:
Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. On 1 July 2006, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered in to force between the US and Guatemala. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line. Other ongoing challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, upgrading both government and private financial operations, curtailing drug trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit. Remittances from a large expatriate community that moved to the United States during the war have become the primary source of foreign income, exceeding the total value of exports and tourism combined.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$61.38 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$35.25 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.6% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 22.2%
industry: 19.1%
services: 58.7% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
3.86 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
3.2% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
56.2% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% (2002)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
59.9 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.6% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
16.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.847 billion
expenditures: $4.435 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
23.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens

Industries:
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
3.6% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
7.281 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
6.361 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
339 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
23 million kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
16,370 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - consumption:
73,510 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:
15,560 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - imports:
72,960 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:
526 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
2.96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$-1.592 billion (2006 est.)

Exports:
$6.025 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom

Exports - partners:
US 44.6%, El Salvador 11.9%, Honduras 7.2%, Mexico 5.2% (2006)

Imports:
$11.07 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, grain, fertilizers, electricity

Imports - partners:
US 33.3%, Mexico 8.8%, China 6.5%, El Salvador 5.3%, South Korea 4.9% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$253.6 million (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.924 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$5.175 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

Currency (code):
quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed

Exchange rates:
quetzales per US dollar - 7.6026 (2006), 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409 (2003), 7.8217 (2002)