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.

Departments in Guatemala

#	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

• Flags and coats of arms of the departments of Guatemala

Web links

• Departamentos and Municipios in Guatemala
• Corresponding articles of the constitution

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Guatemala: Departments & Cities - Population Statistics in Maps and Tables. Retrieved March 18, 2018 .