Departments in Guatemala
Guatemala is divided into 22 administrative districts ( Departamentos ).
organs
Each department is headed by a governor appointed by the state president . The governor represents the local central government and oversees the activities of the decentralized administrative bodies as well as the self-governing bodies of the lower regional authorities. The governor chairs the Departamentos Council ( Consejo departamental ), which is composed of the mayors of the municipalities and representatives of the public and private sectors. These meetings have only advisory functions.
The departments are divided into Municipios ( large municipalities ). In contrast to the departments, the 334 Municipios Guatemalas are independent regional authorities with elected mayors and representatives of the people . Urban Municipios are usually subdivided into Zonas and Colonias ( urban districts and settlements), rural Municipios in Aldeas, Caseríos or Parajes ( rural communities and hamlets ).
List of departments
By far the largest department in Guatemala is Peten in the north of the country.
# | Department | Capital | Area (km²) | Population 2016 |
Inhabitants per km² |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alta Verapaz | Coban | 8,686 | 1,294,000 | 149 |
2 | Baja Verapaz | Salamá | 3.124 | 307.200 | 98 |
3 | Chimaltenango | Chimaltenango | 1,979 | 704,400 | 356 |
4th | Chiquimula | Chiquimula | 2,376 | 415,900 | 175 |
5 | El Peten | Flores | 35,854 | 760,400 | 21st |
6th | El Progreso | Guastatoya | 1,922 | 172,200 | 90 |
7th | El Quiché | Santa Cruz del Quiché | 8,378 | 1,125,000 | 134 |
8th | Escuintla | Escuintla | 4,384 | 775,700 | 177 |
9 | Guatemala | Guatemala City | 2.126 | 3,400,300 | 1,599 |
10 | Huehuetenango | Huehuetenango | 7,403 | 1,294,100 | 175 |
11 | Izabal | Puerto Barrios | 9,038 | 467,000 | 52 |
12 | Jalapa | Jalapa | 2,063 | 365,400 | 177 |
13 | Jutiapa | Jutiapa | 3,219 | 482.200 | 150 |
14th | Quetzaltenango | Quetzaltenango | 1,951 | 882,600 | 452 |
15th | Retalhuleu | Retalhuleu | 1,858 | 340,100 | 183 |
16 | Sacatepéquez | Antigua | 465 | 349,900 | 753 |
17th | San Marcos | San Marcos | 3,791 | 1,147,400 | 303 |
18th | Santa Rosa | Cuilapa | 2,955 | 382,700 | 130 |
19th | Sololá | Sololá | 1,061 | 505,500 | 476 |
20th | Suchitepéquez | Mazatenango | 2,510 | 582.200 | 232 |
21st | Totonicapán | Totonicapán | 1,061 | 553,400 | 522 |
22nd | Zacapa | Zacapa | 2,690 | 240,600 | 89 |
history
In 1825, Guatemala was divided into seven departments: Guatemala-Escuintla, Sacatepéquez-Chimaltenango, Suchitepéquez-Sololá, Quetzaltenango- Soconusco , Totonicapán-Huehuetenango, Chiquimula and Verapaz . There were also two areas directly subordinate to the government: Izabal and Petén . The departments were further subdivided into districts and these into municipalities. The districts were later abolished; some new departments emerged from them. Many of the original departments were divided.
coat of arms | Department | founding | annotation |
---|---|---|---|
Alta Verapaz | May 4, 1877 | Division of the Verapaz department | |
Baja Verapaz | May 4, 1877 | Division of the Verapaz department | |
Chimaltenango | September 12, 1839 | Division of Sacatepéquez-Chimaltenango | |
Chiquimula | November 10, 1871 | In its current form after splitting off from Zacapa | |
El Progreso | April 13, 1908 | Split from Jalapa, on April 3, 1934 final | |
Escuintla | November 4, 1825 | 1838 Division of the Guatemala-Escuintla department | |
Guatemala | November 4, 1825 | 1838 division; From 1877 to 1935 there was an Amatitlán Department | |
Huehuetenango | May 8, 1866 | Spin-off from Totonicapán | |
Izabal | May 18, 1866 | before that it was directly subordinate to the government | |
Jalapa | November 24, 1873 | before to Chiquimula, then district of Mita | |
Jutiapa | May 8, 1852 | before that to Chiquimula and Mita | |
Peten | May 8, 1866 | before that it was directly subordinate to the government | |
Quetzaltenango | September 16, 1845 | Soconusco lost to Mexico, San Marcos split off in 1866 | |
Quiche | August 12, 1872 | split off from Sololá, Totonicapán and Huehuetenango | |
Retalhuleu | October 16, 1877 | Spin-off from Suchitepéquez | |
Sacatepéquez | September 12, 1839 | Division of Sacatepéquez-Chimaltenango | |
San Marcos | May 8, 1866 | Split from Quetzaltenango | |
Santa Rosa | May 8, 1852 | previously part of Guatemala-Escuintla as the Cuilapa district | |
Sololá | November 4, 1825 | loses parts of Quiché in 1872 and Suchitepéquez / Retalhuleu in 1877 | |
Suchitepéquez | October 16, 1877 | loses Retalhuleu | |
Totonicapán | November 4, 1825 | loses Huehuetenango in 1866 and Quiché in 1872 | |
Zacapa | November 10, 1871 | Splitting off from Chiquimula |
Regions in Guatemala
The 22 departments are grouped into eight regions for statistical purposes and for economic planning . These regions are neither administrative districts of the central government nor independent regional authorities. However, according to Article 226 of the Guatemalan Constitution, they each have a “Regional Urban and Rural Development Council” ( Consejo Regional de Desarrollo Urbano y Rural ). These councils, which meet under the chairmanship of a representative of the President, include the governors of the relevant departments, as well as representatives of the municipalities and the public and private sectors. The chairmen of the regional development councils are also members of the “National City and State Development Council”, which is chaired by the President.
region | nickname | Departments |
---|---|---|
I. | Metropolitana | Guatemala |
II | Norte | Alta Verapaz , Baja Verapaz |
III | Nororiental | Chiquimula , El Progreso , Izabal , Zacapa |
IV | Suroriental | Jalapa , Jutiapa , Santa Rosa |
V | Central | Chimaltenango , Escuintla , Sacatepéquez |
VI | Suroccidental | Retalhuleu , San Marcos , Sololá , Totonicapán , Quetzaltenango |
VII | Noroccidental | Huehuetenango , quiché |
VIII | Peten | Petén (on some maps also Belize as the 23rd Department of Guatemala) |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Guatemala: Departments & Cities - Population Statistics in Maps and Tables. Retrieved March 18, 2018 .