Education
In the mid-1980s about 55% of the Guatemalan people aged 15 or more years were literate. Education is theoretically free at all levels, but because of the acute shortage of public schools, many private schools are in operation. Primary education is compulsory.
Elementary and Secondary Schools
In the late 1980s the school system of Guatemala included about 8500 primary schools, which were attended annually by some 1,098,000 pupils. Secondary schools had an annual enrollment of about 241,100 students.
Universities and Colleges
The University of San Carlos of Guatemala (1676), in the city of Guatemala, is the country's major institution of higher education. A private university, the Rafael Landívar University (1961), is also in the capital city. The country has three other universities, as well as schools of music and plastic arts. Total university and college enrollment in the late 1980s exceeded 67,000.
Economy
Since World War II the government of Guatemala has encouraged the expansion of mining and manufacturing in order to offset an overdependence on coffee and banana production. A 5-year development plan of the 1970s was aimed at increasing exports, improving tax collections, and utilizing foreign credits to increase the yearly economic growth rate; austerity measures aimed at curbing imports and increasing domestic revenue were imposed in 1985. In the late 1980s, Guatemala's gross national product was about $900 per capita. During the same period, annual budgets included revenue of about $821 million and expenditure of some $1 billion.
Climate
The climate of Guatemala is, for the most part, equable, although temperatures vary considerably according to altitude. Between about 915 and 2440 m (about 3000 and 8000 ft) above sea level, where most of the population is concentrated, the days are warm and the nights cool; the average annual temperature is about 20° C (about 68° F). The weather in the low-lying coastal regions is more tropical in character, with an average annual temperature of about 28.3° C (about 83° F). The rainy season occurs between May and October, with a corresponding dry season from November to April. Annual rainfall in the north averages between 1525 and 2540 mm (about 60 and 100 in); the city of Guatemala, in the southern highlands, receives about 1320 mm (about 52 in) annually.
List of Universities in GUATEMALA
North America
North America
GRE
