Guatemala

Guatemala is the largest and most populous of Central American countries with about 14 million people in an area slightly smaller than Tennessee. 70% of the Guatemalan population is poor.

This directly reflects the percentage of Guatemalans that do not attend school. 67% of Guatemalans between the age of 7-14 years old do not attend school due to the lack of resources. They can’t afford an education and/or need to help out at home or work to raise money for their families.

Top 12 Facts of Guatemala

1. Recent UN figures show that 70% of Guatemalans are poor. 15% of this 70% live in extreme poverty.
2. According to 2002 census figures, 1 in every 3 women and 1 in every 4 men are illiterate.
3. 42.3% of Guatemala´s 11,237,196 population are children.
4. 40.3% of Guatemala´s 11,237,196 live in one room ¨home¨ with their entire family.
5. 15% of boys and 6% of girls ages 7-14 are working to help support their families.
6. In Guatemala all education whether public or private is paid for by individual families.
7. According to 2002 census figures 67% of Guatemalan children ages 7-14 do not attend school.
8. In Urban Guatemala 27.1% of 7-14 year olds start secondary education. In rural Guatemala this figure is 6.5% of 7-14 year olds.
9. In Urban Guatemala 16.7% of children ages 7-14 have never attended a single day of school.
10. In rural Guatmala 38.8% of children ages 7-14 have never attended a single day of school.
11. 7.0% of Guatemala´s urban population receive a collage education. In rural Guatemala this figure is 0.5%.
12. 26% of Guatemalan children ages 7-14 attend public school, 7% attend private school and 67% do not attend school at all.

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