8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Latin America and the Caribbean / Central America

Born in Guatemala

About 1 in 350 people born in 2023 started life in Guatemala. A boy can expect to live 70 years and a girl 75, up from 38 and 38 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 93% have basic drinking water.

1 in 350
odds of being born here
377,200 births · Ranked 64th of 230
70 / 75
years of life, boys / girls
Was 38 / 38 in 1950
$4,567
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 130th of 203 · extrapolated
56%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 35 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 262 in every 1,000 births to 21.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth70.3 years for boys, 74.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 521.4 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year88,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.3World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles89%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year29 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year0 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.3.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.31UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth27.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 51 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2023
5%Poorest fifth
9%Second
14%Middle
21%Fourth
51%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $4,567 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth51% / 5% (2023)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.3% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises6.2% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.9% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming30% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed39% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment47% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Guatemala City, with 994,938 people.

56%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
93%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Guatemala City994,938
Villa Nueva618,397
Mixco465,773
Cobán212,047
Quetzaltenango180,706
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Spanish88%
Qʼeqchiʼ9%
Kʼicheʼ9%
English3%
Spanish, Kʼicheʼ is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Guatemala3.0 million
Quetzaltenango501,730
Escuintla446,366
Chimaltenango342,906
Alta Verapaz336,928
Quiché243,147
San Marcos239,389
Suchitepeque238,987
Jutiapa223,009
Sacatepéquez221,607

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 22 regions
  • Guatemala3.0 million
  • Quetzaltenango501,730
  • Escuintla446,366
  • Chimaltenango342,906
  • Alta Verapaz336,928
  • Quiché243,147
  • San Marcos239,389
  • Suchitepeque238,987
  • Jutiapa223,009
  • Sacatepéquez221,607
  • Totonicapán208,659
  • Retalhuleu201,071
  • Jalapa184,519
  • Huehuetenango165,627
  • Izabal Department157,999
  • Chiquimula132,179
  • Santa Rosa Department107,307
  • Sololá106,372
  • Baja Verapaz80,432
  • Zacapa79,778
  • Petén68,548
  • El Progreso40,674

People on the move

About 7.9% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are United States, Mexico, Belize.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
United States1,298,936
Mexico81,012
Belize29,643
Residents born abroad0.5% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 7.9% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostUnited States (1.3 million), Mexico (81,012), Belize (29,643)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $25.7 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

23% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

23%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202420,203Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 195013; the deadliest, in 1976, killed about 23,000 people (magnitude 7.5)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19801NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence2,782 between 1989 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Guatemala, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Guatemala

Elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences