Guatemala

Guatemala is the only country in Central America where a large percentage (49%) of the population is made up of indigenous people. Most of these people (73%) live in rural areas. The rest of the population is of mixed Spanish and indigenous ancestry and is referred to as ‘ladino.’ The ladino population is concentrated in urban areas and in the east and south of the country.

Wealth and ownership of productive resources is highly skewed: 20% of the population receives 61% of the country’s wealth.

Despite the recent growth of light industry and tourism, Guatemala remains a predominantly agriculturally based society. The principal exports are coffee, cotton, sugar, bananas, and beef.

Plan’s work

Plan works in rural areas in seven departments in the central and eastern regions of Guatemala. We work with communities to improve mothers’ and children’s basic health, provide adequate water and hygiene, improve pre-primary and primary education, raise production and consumption of food while protecting land productivity, increase non-farm incomes and improve housing.