View source for Guatemalans

{{Short description|People of Guatemala}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Guatemalans<br />''Guatemaltecos''
| flag             = Flag of Guatemala.svg
| flag_caption     = [[Flag of Guatemala]]
| langs            = {{hlist|[[Guatemalan Spanish|Spanish]], [[English language|English]], [[Languages of Guatemala|24 indigenous linguistic groups]] of [[Amerindian languages]]}}
| rels             = [[Catholic]] and [[Protestant]]<ref name="PewResearch">{{cite web|title=Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/11/Religion-in-Latin-America-11-12-PM-full-PDF.pdf|access-date=17 December 2019|language=en|date=November 2014}}</ref>
| footnotes        =  
| related_groups   = {{hlist|[[Spaniards]], [[Afro-Guatemalan]], [[Guatemalan American]], [[Hondurans]], [[Salvadorans]], [[Mexicans]]}}
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = Spanish
| pop              = '''19,357,426'''
| region1          = {{flagcountry|Guatemala}}
| pop1             = 17,980,803<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Guatemala|access-date=2024-12-21|year=2023}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagcountry|USA}}
| pop2             = [[Guatemalan Americans|1,226,849]]<ref name="exp">{{cite web|title=Guatemala - Population|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/guatemala|website=expansion.com/ Datosmacro.com|language=Spanish}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
| pop3             = [[Guatemalan Mexicans|46,318]]<ref name="exp" />
| region4          = {{flagcountry|Belize}}
| pop4             = 26,767<ref name="exp" />
| region5          = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop5             = 18,602<ref name="exp" />
| region6          = {{flagcountry|Spain}}
| pop6             = 10,002<ref name="exp" /> – 15,172 (2022)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Población por comunidades y provincias, país de nacimiento, edad (grupos quinquenales) y sexo|url=https://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p04/provi/l0/&file=0ccaa005.px#!tabs-tabla|access-date=2023-07-15|website=www.ine.es|language=Spanish}}</ref>
| region7          = {{flagcountry|El Salvador}}
| pop7             = 9,036<ref name="exp" />
| region8          = {{flagcountry|Honduras}}
| pop8             = 4,711<ref name="exp" />
| region9          = {{flagcountry|France}}
| pop9             = 3,423<ref name="exp" />
| region10         = {{flagcountry|Costa Rica}}
| pop10            = 3,192<ref name="exp" />
| region11         = {{flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop11            = 2,330<ref name="exp" /> – 965 (according to Italian official data)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guatemaltechi in Italia|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri/guatemala/|access-date=2023-06-28|website=www.tuttitalia.it|language=Italian}}</ref>
| region12         = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop12            = 2,322<ref name="exp" />
| region13         = {{flagcountry|Panama}}
| pop13            = 1,925<ref name="exp" />
| region14         = {{flagcountry|Nicaragua}}
| pop14            = 1,843<ref name="exp" />
| region15         = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| pop15            = 1,144<ref name="exp" />
| region16         = {{flagcountry|UK}}
}}
'''Guatemalans''' ({{langx|es|guatemaltecos}} or less commonly {{lang|es|guatemalenses}}) are people connected to the country of [[Guatemala]]. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Guatemalans, several (if not all) of these connections exist.

Guatemala is a multicultural society, though most Guatemalans have varying degrees of European (predominantly [[Spaniards|Spaniard]]) and [[Indigenous peoples in Guatemala|Amerindian]] ancestry. Guatemalans are also colloquially nicknamed ''chapines'' in other [[Spanish-speaking countries]] of [[Latin America]].

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Guatemala|List of cities in Guatemala}}
{{bar box
|title=Ethnicities of Guatemalans (2018)<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=https://www.censopoblacion.gt/mapas |title=Portal de Resultados del Censo 2018 |publisher=Censopoblacion.gt |date=2018|accessdate=2025-05-23 |archive-date=17 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217015625/https://www.censopoblacion.gt/mapas |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1='''Ancestry'''
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Ladino people|Ladino]]{{sup|a}}|blue|56.01}}
{{bar percent|[[Maya peoples|Mayan]]|purple|41.66}}
{{bar percent|[[Xinca people|Xinca]]|gold|1.77}}
{{bar percent|Black|maroon|0.32}}
{{bar percent|Other|grey|0.24}}
|caption = {{sup|a}}<small> Mestizo or hispanicized people</small>
}}
Guatemala has a population of 17,153,288 (July 2020 est).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Central America :: Guatemala — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guatemala/|access-date=2020-07-31|website=www.cia.gov}}</ref> In 1900, Guatemala had a population of 885,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.populstat.info/Americas/guatemac.htm |title=Population Statistics |publisher=Populstat.info |access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522101502/http://www.populstat.info/Americas/guatemac.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Guatemala had the fastest population growth in the Western Hemisphere during 20th century. Approximately half of the Guatemalan population lives in poverty and 13.7% of them live in extreme poverty.

Guatemala is heavily centralized. Transportation, communications, business, politics, and the most relevant urban activity takes place in Guatemala City. Guatemala City has about 2 million inhabitants within the city limits and more than 5 million within the wider urban area. This is a significant percentage of the population (14 million).<ref name="cia"/>

The estimated median age in Guatemala is 20 years old, 19.4 for males and 20.7 years for females.<ref name="cia">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guatemala/ |title=CIA World Factbook, Guatemala|website=Cia.gov |date=July 2011 |access-date=22 December 2011}}</ref> This is the lowest [[median]] age of any country in the Western Hemisphere and comparable to most of central Africa and Iraq.

=== Ethnic groups ===
According to the 2018 Census, about 56.57% of the population identifies as non-indigenous.<ref>[https://www.censopoblacion.gt/mapas Censo Población y Vivienda, 2018] INE. Instituto Nacional de Estadística.</ref> The majority, or 56.01% are [[Ladino people|Ladinos]], those include [[Mestizo]]s, people mixed European with Amerindian, another part but visible are [[Whites]] of European descent, specially Spanish, German and [[Italian People|Italian]], (in Colonia Era, direct descendants of Spanish were called as [[Criollo people|Criollo]]). The Amerindian populations as of 2002 Census include the [[K'iche' people|K'iche']] 9.1%, [[Q'eqchi' people|Q'eqchi]] 8.4%, [[Kaqchikel people|Kaqchikel]] 7.9%, [[Mam people|Mam]] 6.3% and 8.6% of the population is "other [[Maya peoples|Mayan]]", 0.4% is indigenous non-Mayan, making the indigenous community in Guatemala about 40.3% of the population.

There are smaller communities present, including about 15,000 Salvadorans. The [[Garífuna]], who are descended primarily from Africans who lived with and intermarried with indigenous peoples from St. Vincent, live mainly in Livingston and [[Puerto Barrios]]. Those communities have other [[Afro-Guatemalan|blacks]] and [[mulatto]]s descended from the Spanish Slave Trade. There are also [[Asian people|Asians]], mostly of [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] descent. Other Asian groups include [[Arab people|Arabs]] of [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] and [[Syrian people|Syrian]] descent. There is also a growing [[Koreans|Korean]] community in Guatemala City and in nearby [[Mixco]], currently numbering about 6,000.<ref>Luisa Rodríguez {{cite web |url=http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2004/agosto/29/96392.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090330000812/http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2004/agosto/29/96392.html |archive-date=March 30, 2009 |title=Guatemala como residencia |url-status=dead |access-date=June 1, 2016}} Prensalibre.com. 29 August 2004</ref> Guatemala's German population is credited with bringing the tradition of a Christmas tree to the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/traditions-world.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515112224/http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/traditions-world.html|title=History of the Christmas Tree|archive-date=May 15, 2008}}</ref>

==== Mestizo ====
[[File:194-aos-de-independencia 21415760752 o.jpg|thumb|Child in [[Guatemala City]] celebrating Independence Day.]][[Guatemala]]n [[mestizo]]s are people of mixed [[Europe]]an and Amerindian ancestry. They may also have varying degrees of African or Asian ancestry. Mixed Guatemalans could reach 60% with people of different grades of mixture, but the culture environment into different communities can influence people to identify as Indigenous, Ladino or White. The mestizo population in Guatemala is concentrated in urban areas of the country (the national capital and departmental capitals).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countriesquest.com/central_america/guatemala.htm|title=Guatemala – Central America: guatemala history, guatemala population, culture dominant, guatemala republic, independence spain|website=Countriesquest.com|access-date=2017-08-10}}</ref> [[Genetic testing]] indicates that Guatemalan Mestizos are on average of predominantly indigenous ancestry.<ref>[https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1339-1 Genomic insights on the ethno-history of the Maya and the ‘Ladinos’ from Guatemala]</ref>

Historically the mestizo population in [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|the Kingdom of Guatemala]] at the time of Independence amounted to nearly 600,000 [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]], 300,000 [[castes]] (mostly [[mestizos]] and a lesser number of [[mulattos]]), and 45,000 [[Criollo people|criollos]] or [[Spanish people|Spanish]], with a very small number of Spaniards.<ref name=CIRMA>{{cite web |url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/vrp/arriola.pdf |title=GUATEMALA: DEL MESTIZAJE A LA LADINIZACION, 1524-1964|access-date=2014-11-04 |publisher=CIRMA }}</ref>

==== Indigenous ====
[[File:santiago de atitlan natives 2009.JPG|thumb|[[Tz'utujil people|Tz'utujil]] men in [[Santiago Atitlán]].]]
The Amerindian populations in Guatemala are estimated from 41.7% to the half of population. According to the last Census, the distribution are formed by K'iche' 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9% and Q'eqchi 6.3%. 8.6% of the population is "other Mayan," 0.4% is indigenous non-Mayan, making the indigenous community in Guatemala about 40.3% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statisticsbelize.org.bz/dms20uc/dynamicdata/docs/20110505004542_2.pdf |title=Belize |access-date=7 June 2012 |work=2010 Belize Housing and Population Census|publisher=Statistical Institute of Belize |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812062733/http://www.statisticsbelize.org.bz/dms20uc/dynamicdata/docs/20110505004542_2.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2011 }}</ref>

==== Garifuna ====
The [[Garífuna]], who are descended primarily from Africans who lived with and intermarried with indigenous peoples from St. Vincent, live mainly in Livingston and [[Puerto Barrios]].

==== Criollo and other European descendants ====
The term [[Criollo people|Criollo]] refers to Guatemalans of mostly or fully [[Spaniards|Spanish]] descent. Other European ethnic groups include those of [[Germans]], [[Italians]], [[English people|English]], and [[Belgian people|Belgian]] descent. Other ancestry can include those from [[Eastern Europe]] and White [[Americans]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Guatemala}}

[[File:Idiomasmap Guatemala.svg|thumb|A language map of Guatemala. The "Castilian" areas represent Spanish.]]Spanish is the official language. As a first and second language, Spanish is spoken by 93% of the population as second or third language.

Twenty-one [[Mayan languages]] are spoken, especially in rural areas, as well as two non-Mayan [[Amerindian]] languages, [[Xinca language|Xinca]], an indigenous language, and [[Garifuna language|Garifuna]], an [[Arawakan]] language spoken on the Caribbean coast. According to the Language Law of 2003, the languages of Mayas, Xincas, and Garifunas are unrecognized as National Languages.<ref name=Decreto19-2003>{{cite web |access-date=June 10, 2007 |url=http://www.oj.gob.gt/es/QueEsOJ/EstructuraOJ/UnidadesAdministrativas/CentroAnalisisDocumentacionJudicial/cds/CDs%20leyes/2003/Leyes%20en%20PDF/Decretos%202003/Decreto%2019-2003.pdf |title=Ley de Idiomas Nacionales, Decreto Número 19-2003 |language=es |publisher=El Congreso de la República de Guatemala |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235237/http://www.oj.gob.gt/es/QueEsOJ/EstructuraOJ/UnidadesAdministrativas/CentroAnalisisDocumentacionJudicial/cds/CDs%20leyes/2003/Leyes%20en%20PDF/Decretos%202003/Decreto%2019-2003.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

The peace accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages (see summary of main substantive accords) and mandate the provision of interpreters in legal cases for non-Spanish speakers. The accord also sanctioned bilingual education in Spanish and indigenous languages. It is common for indigenous Guatemalans to learn or speak between two and five of the nation's other languages, and Spanish.

===Emigration out of Guatemala===
The Civil War forced many Guatemalans to start lives outside of their country. The majority of the Guatemalan [[diaspora]] is located in the United States of America, with estimates ranging from 480,665<ref name="US_Census_2000">The [[2000 U.S. census]] recorded 480,665 Guatemalan-born respondents; see Smith (2006)</ref> to 1,489,426.<ref name="MigrationDC_2006">{{cite web|author=Smith, James|date=April 2006|url=http://www.migrationdrc.org/research/typesofmigration/global_migrant_origin_database.html|title=DRC Migration, Globalisation and Poverty|website=Migrationdrc.org|access-date=2017-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227000102/http://www.migrationdrc.org/research/typesofmigration/global_migrant_origin_database.html|archive-date=2016-12-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> The difficulty in getting accurate counts for Guatemalans abroad is because many of them are refugee claimants awaiting determination of their status.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guatemalans |url=http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/guatemalans.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080420083039/http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/guatemalans.html |archive-date=2008-04-20 |work=multiculturalcanada.ca |date=November 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Emigration to the United States of America has led to the growth of Guatemalan communities in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Rhode Island and elsewhere since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=385 |title=Migration Information Statistics |website=Migrationinformation.org |access-date=June 1, 2010}}</ref>

Below are estimates for the total number of Guatemalans in certain countries:
{| class="sortable wikitable centre"
|-
! Country || 2020 
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{USA}} || align=right| 1,226,849
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{MEX}} || align=right| 46,318
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{BLZ}} || align=right| 26,767
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{CAN}} || align=right| 18,602
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{ESP}} || align=right| 10,002
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{SLV}} || align=right| 9036
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{HND}} || align=right| 4711
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{FRA}} || align=right| 3423
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{CRI}} || align=right| 3192
|-  bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{ITA}} || align=right| 2330
|- bgcolor="efefef"
|colspan=1 style="background:#e9e9e9;" align=center|'''Total'''|| align=right|'''1,368,431'''  
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
|colspan=5 style="background:#e9e9e9;" align=center|<small>Source:DatosMacro.<ref name="exp" /></small>
|-
|}

=== Immigration to Guatemala===
During the colonial era Guatemala received immigrants (settlers) only from Spain. Subsequently, Guatemala received waves of immigration from Europe in the mid 19th century and early 20th century.{{clarify|date=June 2015}} Primarily from Germany, these immigrants installed coffee and cardamom [[fincas]] in [[Alta Verapaz]], [[Zacapa Department|Zacapa]], [[Quetzaltenango Department|Quetzaltenango]], [[Baja Verapaz]] and [[Izabal Department|Izabal]] departments. To a lesser extent people also arrived from Spain, France, Belgium, England, Italy, Sweden, etc.

Many Europeans who emigrated to Guatemala were politicians, refugees, families, entrepreneurs and mainly settlers, Guatemala had long been the Central American country that received the most immigrants, behind [[Costa Rica]] for 1950, that does not mean that the country no longer receive large numbers of immigrants.{{clarify|date=June 2015}}

From the 1890s there have been small communities of Asians (in particular from [[Korea]], China, Japan, [[Singapore]] and the [[Philippines]]) but in recent decades this has been growing. Also beginning with the [[First World War]], the immigrant population is being strengthened by [[Jewish]] and [[Pakistan]]i immigration.

During the second half of the twentieth century, Latin American immigration grew strong in Guatemala, particularly from other [[Central American]] countries, Mexico, [[Cuba]], [[Colombia]], etc. Although the majority of them resided only temporarily to go to their final destination, which was the United States.

Below are estimates for the total number of immigrants from other countries in Guatemala:
{| class="sortable wikitable centre"
|-
! Country || 2020 
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{SLV}} || align=right| 20,683
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{MEX}} || align=right| 18,872
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{USA}} || align=right| 9299 
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{NIC}} || align=right| 9211
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{HND}} || align=right| 9023 
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{KOR}} || align=right| 1921 
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{ESP}} || align=right| 1418
|- bgcolor="efefef"
| {{CRI}} || align=right| 1248
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{COL}} || align=right| 1242
|-  bgcolor="ffffff"
| {{BLZ}} || align=right| 984  
|- bgcolor="efefef"
|colspan=1 style="background:#e9e9e9;" align=center|'''Total'''|| align=right|'''84,311'''  
|- bgcolor="ffffff"
|colspan=5 style="background:#e9e9e9;" align=center|<small>Source:DatosMacro.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guatemala - Inmigrantes totales|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/guatemala|website=expansion.com/ Datosmacro.com|language=Spanish}}</ref></small>
|-
|}

== Guatemalan culture ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2018}}

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Guatemalan cuisine}}[[File:Tamal chipilín.jpg|thumb|150px|Chipilín Tamal, a common dish usually eaten at dinner]]

The '''Guatemalan cuisine''' reflects the multicultural nature of Guatemala, in that it involves food that differs in taste depending on the region. Guatemala has 22 departments (or divisions), each of which has very different varieties of food.. For example, [[Antigua Guatemala]] is well known for its candy which makes use of many local ingredients fruits, seeds and nuts along with honey, condensed milk and other traditional sweeteners. Antigua's candy is very popular when tourists visit the country for the first time, and is a great choice in the search for new and interesting flavors.

Many traditional foods are based on [[Maya cuisine]] and prominently feature corn, chilis and beans as key ingredients. Various dishes may have the same name as dishes from a neighboring country, but may in fact be quite different for example the [[enchilada]] or [[quesadilla]], which are nothing like their Mexican counterparts.

[[File:Chiltepin mexico sonora.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Chiltepe, a common pepper used on some Guatemalan dishes]]
There are also foods that it is traditional to eat on certain days of the week – for example, by tradition it is known that on Thursday, the typical food is "paches", which is like a [[tamale]] made with a base of potato, and on Sundays it is traditional to eat tamales, due to the fact that Sundays are considered holidays. Certain dishes are also associated with special occasions, such as [[fiambre]] for [[All Saints Day]] on November 1 and tamales, which are common [[Christmas]].

There are reportedly hundreds of varieties of [[tamales]] throughout Guatemala. They key variations are what is in the ''[[masa]]'' or dough ([[maize]], [[potatoes]], [[rice]]), what's in the filling (meat, fruits, nuts), and what is it wrapped with (leaves, husks). The masa is made out of corn that is not sweet, such as what is known as feed corn in the U.S.A. In Guatemala, this non-sweet corn is called [[maize]] and the corn that Americans from the US are used to eating on the cob, sweet corn, they call ''[[elote]]''. Tamales in Guatemala are more typically wrapped in [[Plantain (cooking)|plantain]], [[banana]], or maxan leaves rather than corn husks.

The ancient Mayan civilization lasted for about six hundred years before collapsing around 900 A.D. Today, almost half of the Guatemalan population is Mayan.  These natives live throughout the country and grow maize as their staple crop. In addition, the ancient Maya ate amaranth, a breakfast cereal similar to modern day cereals.
=== Music ===
[[Guatemala]]'s national instrument is the [[marimba]], an [[idiophone]] from the family of the [[xylophones]], which is played all over the country, even in the remotest corners. Towns also have wind and percussion bands that play during the [[Lent]] and [[Easter]]-week processions, as well as on other occasions. The [[Garifuna people|Garifuna]] people of [[wikt:Afro-Caribbean|Afro-Caribbean]] descent, who are spread thinly on the northeastern Caribbean coast, have their own distinct varieties of [[Popular music|popular]] and [[folk music]]. [[Cumbia]], from the Colombian variety, is also very popular, especially among the lower classes.[[File:Miguel Angel Asturias.jpg|thumb|[[Miguel Ángel Asturias]].]]
=== Literature ===
{{Further|Guatemalan literature}}
The [[Guatemala National Prize in Literature]] is a one-time only award that recognizes an individual writer's body of work. It has been given annually since 1988 by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

[[Miguel Ángel Asturias]] won the literature Nobel Prize in 1967. Among his famous books is ''[[El Señor Presidente]]'', a novel based on the government of [[Manuel Estrada Cabrera]].

[[Rigoberta Menchú]], winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting oppression of indigenous people in Guatemala, is famous for her books ''I, Rigoberta Menchú'' and ''Crossing Borders.''

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Guatemala}}
{{Pie chart
|caption=Religion in Guatemala (2001)<ref>[http://www.prolades.com/cra/regions/cam/gte/guate.html Profile of Guatemala, 2001] PROLADES</ref>
|label1 = [[Roman Catholicism]]
|value1 = 58
|color1 = yellow
|label2 = [[Christian Protestantism|Christian Protestant]]
|value2 = 25
|color2 = blue
|label3 = [[Atheists|Atheist]], None or [[Agnosticism|Agnostic]]
|value3 = 14
|color3 = green
|label4 = Other Beliefs
|value4 = 3
|color4 = red
}}

Historically, [[Catholicism]] was introduced by the Spanish and was the official religion during the colonial era. However, the practice of Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades, with nearly one third of Guatemalans identifying themselves as Protestants, chiefly [[Evangelicalism|Evangelicals]] and [[Pentecostal]]s. Growth is particularly strong among the ethnic Mayan population, with [[National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala]] being an important denomination, maintaining 11 indigenous-language Presbyteries.

Traditional [[Maya religion|Mayan religion]] persists through the process of [[inculturation]], whereby certain practices are incorporated into Catholic ceremonies and worship when they are sympathetic to the meaning of Catholic belief.<ref>[http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/07/28/dal-guatemala-il-focolare-scuola-d%E2%80%99inculturazione/ From Guatemala: the focolare, a school of inculturation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814111329/http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/07/28/dal-guatemala-il-focolare-scuola-d%e2%80%99inculturazione/ |date=2011-08-14 }}. Focolare. July 28, 2011. Retrieved on 2012-01-02.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56028436/Guatemalan-Catholics-and-Mayas-the-future-of-dialogue%28Report%29 |title=Guatemalan Catholics and Mayas: The future of dialogue.(Report) |access-date=2012-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618072213/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56028436/Guatemalan-Catholics-and-Mayas-the-future-of-dialogue%28Report%29 |archive-date=2012-06-18 }}</ref> Indigenous religious practices are increasing as a result of the cultural protections established under the peace accords. The government has instituted a policy of providing altars at every Mayan ruin found in the country, so traditional ceremonies may be performed there.

==See also==
{{Portal|Guatemala}}
*[[List of Guatemalans]]
*[[Guatemalan Americans]]
*[[Criollo people]]
*[[Hispanics]]

==References==
{{Commons category|People of Guatemala|position=left}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Ethnic groups in Guatemala}}
{{Guatemala topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guatemalan People}}
[[Category:Guatemalan people| 01]]
[[Category:Central American people by nationality]]