Full Name: The Republic of Guatemala

Date of Independence: September 15th, 1821

Capital: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Population: 17,703,190 (est. 2022)

Foreign-Born Population: Aprox. 80,000 (est. 2019)

Government Structure: Presidential Republic

Leader(s): President Bernardo Arévalo

Primary Flow of Immigration:

Current Stance on Immigration: [or] Major Destinations of Emigrants:

The major destination for Guatemalan immigrants is the United States.
Within the United States, the states with the most Guatemalan immigrants are Texas, Florida, and California.
Outside of North and Central America, many Guatemalan immigrants have settled in Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Korea, and China.
Recent Immigration Policy: [or] Primary “Push” Factors

Agreed to become a third “safe country,” in the Trump’s Administration to combat the “crisis at the border.”
The agreement was rescinded by the Biden Administration

The Biden Administration prioritized addressing the common push factors that lead to immigration to the United States—like poverty, unemployment, and crime—by investing in the countries in the Northern Triangle.

Guatemala shares the highest murder rates in the world due to drug trafficking and organized crime alongside Honduras and El Salvador.
Physical, sexual, and psychological abuse force women to flee the country.

Corruption: In 2015, Guatemala’s President Otto Perez Molina was forced to resign and put in jail. Other instances of corruption, however, still plague the country.
Recently inaugurated President Bernardo Arevalo also faced resistance while assuming his democratically elected position as President.

Further Reading: