Guatemala

Guatemala (US   / ˌ ɡ w ɑː t ə ˈ m <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ɑː/ 'a' in 'father'">ɑː <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">l <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ə/ 'a' in 'about'">ə <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/   <span class="Unicode" style="font-family:'ArialUnicodeMS','LucidaSansUnicode';" title="English pronunciation respelling">  gwah  -tə-  mah  -lə, UK  <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"> <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"> <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ˌ/ secondary stress follows">ˌ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">ɡ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">w <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/æ/ short 'a' in 'bad'">æ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">t <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ɪ/ short 'i' in 'bid'">ɪ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ˈ/ primary stress follows">ˈ <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">m <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ɑː/ 'a' in 'father'">ɑː <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';">l <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';"><span style="border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;" title="/ə/ 'a' in 'about'">ə <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/   <span class="Unicode" style="font-family:'ArialUnicodeMS','LucidaSansUnicode';" title="English pronunciation respelling">  gwa  -ti-  mah  -lə ), officially the <p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala <span class="IPA" style="font-family:'LucidaSansUnicode','ArialUnicodeMS';" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala] ), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, andHonduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km<sup style="line-height:1em;">2  (42,043 mi<sup style="line-height:1em;">2 ) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">A representative democracy, its capital is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1em;">[5]  The former Mayancivilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. They had lived in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and eastern parts of El Salvador.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821. After independence it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company and the United States government. From 1960 to 1996, Guatemala underwent a civil war fought between the government andleftist rebels. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molinaof the Patriotic Party won the presidency.