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- Guatemala,
with 30 volcanoes spread throughout the highlands and featuring Atitlán
Lake, is a beautiful country full of wonders and legends.
- About 13 million people live in Guatemala and more than 50% are descendants of indigenous Maya. Most of them are living in poverty and suffer from malnutrition. They are discriminated against and have been deprived of education.
- Guatemala is a multicultural country and home to 23 Maya ethnic groups, each one with its own culture and language. The official language is Spanish, yet only 60% of the population can understand it. More than half of the population’s mother tongue is one of 23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca.
- The official adult illiteracy rate in Guatemala is 37% for males and 53% for females, the second highest in the Western Hemisphere. A Guatemalan organization specializing in Maya women’s concerns estimates that 95% of rural women (mostly Maya) are illiterate.
- The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, into which many indigenous have incorporated traditional forms of worship. Protestantism and traditional Maya religions are practiced by an estimated 30% of the population.
- The country has suffered from civil wars, corruption, and natural disasters for many years. 50,000 to 60,000 people were killed during the political violence of the 70s.
- In 1976, a severe earthquake killed about 22,000 people and left around a million people homeless.
- During the civil war of the 1980s, it was estimated that 15,000 civilians died and 100,000 refugees (mostly indigenous Maya) fled over the border to Mexico.
- The Peace Accords were signed on the 29th of December 1996, putting an end to the 36-year civil war.
- In November 1999, the country held its first peacetime elections in nearly 40 years. However, it didn’t put an end to discrimination, political violence and corruption.
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