Guatemala Population
Guatemala had an estimated population of 18,687,881 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 69th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.23% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.52% a year.
Guatemala at a glance
How Guatemala's population is changing
Guatemala's population is growing fast: +1.52% a year, which works out to about +283,664 people per year, or +777 a day. Births (20.6 per 1,000) and deaths (4.9 per 1,000) alone would give +1.58% a year; net migration removes about 7,959 people a year (−0.04%). Roughly one in every 440 people on Earth lives in Guatemala.
Population of Guatemala since 1960
In 1960, Guatemala had 4,063,655 people. By 2025 that was 18,687,881 — 4.6× larger. The fastest growth came between 1960 and 1970, when the population rose by 33%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4,063,655 | — |
| 1970 | 5,396,966 | +32.8% |
| 1980 | 6,900,212 | +27.9% |
| 1990 | 9,024,773 | +30.8% |
| 2000 | 11,697,592 | +29.6% |
| 2010 | 14,500,112 | +24.0% |
| 2020 | 17,357,325 | +19.7% |
| 2025 | 18,687,881 | +7.7% |
Guatemala from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Guatemala at about 462,930 people in 1800; the UN estimates 18,687,881 in 2025 (40× 1800) and projects 25,912,090 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2077 at 27,154,263 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 462,930 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 846,846 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,352,626 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 3,097,199 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 11,697,592 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 18,687,881 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 24,670,861 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 27,139,988 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 25,912,090 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Guatemala
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 18,687,881. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 2,837,708 | UN urban centre | 15.18% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Villa Nueva | 618,397 | GeoNames settlement | 3.31% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Mixco | 465,773 | GeoNames settlement | 2.49% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Quetzaltenango | 291,105 | UN urban centre | 1.56% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Cobán | 229,017 | UN urban centre | 1.23% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Chimaltenango | 175,556 | UN urban centre | 0.94% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Villa Canales | 155,423 | GeoNames settlement | 0.83% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Chichicastenango | 141,567 | GeoNames settlement | 0.76% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | San Juan Sacatepéquez | 136,886 | GeoNames settlement | 0.73% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Petapa | 135,447 | GeoNames settlement | 0.72% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Guatemala compares
Guatemala has almost the same population as Senegal (18,931,966).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Guatemala | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #67 |  Romania | 19,020,271 | +2% | compare → |
| #68 |  Senegal | 18,931,966 | +1% | compare → |
| #70 |  Ecuador | 18,289,896 | −2% | compare → |
| #71 |  Netherlands | 18,087,633 | −3% | compare → |
Compare Guatemala with any country →
Same region (Latin America & Caribbean): Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela.
Explore around Guatemala
Land neighbours (4)
Mexico 131,946,900 · 7.1× the population · compare
Honduras 11,005,850 · 1.7× smaller · compare
El Salvador 6,365,503 · 2.9× smaller · compare
Belize 422,924 · 44.2× smaller · compare
Guatemala's 4 neighbours together hold 149,741,177 people — 8.0× Guatemala's population. The most populous is Mexico (131,946,900).
In its region
Guatemala is the 8th most populous of the 42 economies in Latin America & Caribbean, holding 2.8% of the region's 666,592,570 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Guatemala City, Villa Nueva, Mixco, Quetzaltenango, Cobán, Chimaltenango, Villa Canales, Chichicastenango — all Guatemala's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Guatemala when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.