🇬🇹 Guatemala

Guatemala is Central America's most populous country — 18 million people with a GDP of about $95 billion. It has the largest economy in the region but also extreme inequality: the richest 10% earn 40 times more than the poorest 10%. The country is the heart of the ancient Maya civilization — Tikal, with its towering pyramids emerging from jungle canopy, is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in the Americas. Guatemala is the world's largest cardamom exporter and a major coffee producer. About 40% of the population is indigenous Maya, the highest proportion in Central America.

Remittances are the biggest economic driver — over $18 billion annually from Guatemalans in the US, equivalent to about 18% of GDP. Agriculture (coffee, bananas, cardamom, sugar), textiles, and manufacturing are the main sectors. The US is overwhelmingly the dominant trade partner. The informal economy employs about 70% of workers. GDP growth has been steady at 3-4%, but poverty rates remain stubbornly high at about 50%.

Guatemala's Tikal was one of the largest cities in the ancient world — at its peak around 700 AD, it had an estimated 100,000-200,000 residents. The country's Lake Atitlán, surrounded by three volcanoes, was described by Aldous Huxley as "the most beautiful lake in the world." Guatemala's national bird, the quetzal, was so valued by the Maya that its feathers were used as currency — killing one was punishable by death.

Guatemala's economy is propped up by remittances, which masks deep structural problems — inequality, corruption, and underinvestment in human capital. The Maya heritage is a tourism goldmine that's barely been tapped.