Guatemala is a department of Guatemala. INE’s 2018 census counted 3,015,081 people in the department (the figure shown at the top of this page), up from 2,541,581 in the 2002 census. INE’s population projection for 2023, from its departmental estimates and projections workbook, is 3,639,725; projections and census counts measure different things (2026 figures). The department capital is Guatemala City, whose municipality counted 923,392 people in 2018. The department has 17 municipalities, according to the Municipalidad de Villa Nueva.
What to Expect
Zone 1 is Guatemala City’s historic centre. The UK Foreign Office describes it as the historic centre, where cheaper hotels are located and several bus routes end, and tells visitors to take care there because tourists have been targeted by opportunistic criminals. The Ministry of Culture lists guided tours of the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura there. The Festival del Centro Histórico, first held in 1998, takes place in the historic centre; Diario de Centro América dates the 2026 edition, the 29th, from 7 to 17 October, opening at the Catedral Metropolitana on 7 October.
Zone 10, the Zona Viva, is the zone the UK Foreign Office calls popular with tourists and foreign residents, while warning that no part of the city, Zone 10 included, is free from crime. Canada’s travel advice (read 2 October 2026) says to avoid non-essential travel to Zone 1, Zone 3, Zones 5-7, Zone 18 and Zone 21 of Guatemala City, and to the municipalities of San Pedro Ayampuc and Villa Canales in Guatemala department, due to very high levels of violent crime. The Embassy of Canada is there, and so are the Popol Vuh and Ixchel museums, in the cultural complex of the Universidad Francisco Marroquín. In zona 7, Kaminaljuyú is, in the words of the government’s CulturaGuate site (culturaguate.gob.gt), the ancestral site of the inhabitants of Guatemala City; the site says the site was occupied for more than 2,000 years, from about 1000 BC to 850 or 900 AD.
Beyond the capital, the department includes Mixco and Villa Nueva, which counted 465,773 and 433,734 people in the 2018 census; the Municipalidad de Villa Nueva describes its municipality as a municipio dormitorio, a commuter town. The banking superintendency’s 2026 calendar of bank holidays marks the Asunción holiday (15 August, observed by banks on Friday 14 August in 2026) as applying only to the capital city.
The cost, safety and internet figures in the Key Stats section are our own map data, not official or sourced figures; earlier versions of this text repeated them ($703 and $1,200 a month, 4/10 safety, 85/100 internet, an elevation of 1,502 m) and also gave climate ranges, airline routes, rankings of restaurants and malls with no published source; the 2026 projection figures it gave for Mixco and Villa Nueva are replaced here by 2018 census counts. For the homicide data we can source, the Diálogos observatory’s June 2026 report gives the department an interannual homicide rate of 32.8 per 100,000 people (the 12 months to June 2026) and recorded 112 homicides there in June 2026, 91 of men and 21 of women. For detailed cost comparisons, see our Guatemala City cost of living guide. Check the latest exchange rates and gas prices for budgeting.
The attraction and festival cards and the highlights shown elsewhere on this page come from our own map data. For more information about staying safe while exploring, visit our safety guide.
Top Zones to Explore
- Zona 10 — Zona Viva — popular with tourists and foreign residents, in the UK Foreign Office’s words; the Embassy of Canada and the Popol Vuh and Ixchel museums are here.
- Zona 4 — see our Zona 4 page.
- Zona 16 — see our Zona 16 page.
Nearby Departments
Baja Verapaz | Chimaltenango | El Progreso | Escuintla | Jalapa | Sacatepequez | Santa Rosa
Explore More Data
- Activities & Things to Do – Explore activities and tours
- Safety Guide – Read our detailed safety guide
- Internet & Connectivity – Check internet options
- Exchange Rates – Today’s exchange rate
- Cost of Living – Compare living costs
- Remittances – Compare remittance providers
- Gas Prices – Fuel prices by department
- Canasta Basica – Basic food basket costs
- Weather – Climate and weather data
Sources
- INE, Resultados del XII Censo Nacional de Población y VII de Vivienda 2018 (population by department and municipality, censuses of 1994, 2002 and 2018).
- Municipalidad de Villa Nueva, Ubicación geográfica (17 municipalities in the department), read 10 October 2026, and Datos generales, read 30 September 2026.
- INE, Estimaciones y proyecciones de población, Guatemala department workbook (2023 projection, total at 30 June), read 25 September 2026.
- UK Foreign Office, Guatemala safety and security, read 24 September 2026.
- Government of Canada, Travel advice and advisories for Guatemala (Embassy of Canada address; regional advisories), read 2 October 2026.
- CulturaGuate, Kaminaljuyú, read 3 October 2026; Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Sistema de Información Cultural listing for the Museo Popol Vuh.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Sistema de Información Cultural listings for the Mapa en Relieve (read 10 October 2026) and the Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena (read 3 October 2026).
- IRTRA, Mundo Petapa, read 8 October 2026.
- RENAP, list of bank agencies that collect RENAP fees (Mercado Central address), read 2 October 2026.
- CONRED, Nota de prensa No. 1697 on the Quema del Diablo, read 24 September 2026.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes on the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura tours, as cited on our Guatemala City museums page, read 3 October 2026.
- Diario de Centro América on the 2026 Festival del Centro Histórico, read 30 September 2026.
- Superintendencia de Bancos, 2026 calendar (15 August holiday for the capital only), read 20 September 2026.
- Diálogos, Observatorio de la violencia, Informe sobre la violencia homicida en Guatemala, junio 2026.