- Population:
- 17,422,821
- Religion:
- Christianity
Guatemala a Central American country south of Mexico is home to volcanoes rainforests and ancient Mayan sites. The capital Guatemala City features the stately National Palace of Culture and the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Antigua west of the capital contains preserved Spanish colonial buildings. Lake Atitlán formed in a massive volcanic crater is surrounded by coffee fields and villages.
The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996 the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the internal conflict which had left more than 200000 people dead and had created by some estimates about 1 million refugees.
