Guatemala is metric by law, but at the gas pump, the market and the land office you will still meet galones, libras, quintales, varas and manzanas.
In short: Decreto 78-2005 makes the International System of Units (SI) the only official system. In daily trade and even in government reports, fuel is priced per galón (US gallon, 3.785412 L), grain per libra and quintal (100 libras), and land in varas cuadradas, manzanas (10,000 square varas) and caballerías. Government sources print slightly different metric equivalents for the same unit, so check which one a quote uses.
What the law says
Article 63 of Decreto 78-2005, the Ley del Sistema Nacional de la Calidad (National Quality System Law), as published by the Ministerio de Economía:
“El Sistema Internacional de Unidades (SI), conocido anteriormente como el Sistema Métrico Decimal, es el sistema oficial de uso obligatorio en todo el territorio nacional.”
In plain English: the International System of Units, formerly known as the decimal metric system, is the official system of compulsory use throughout the national territory. Article 88 of the same decree rewrote Article 20 of the Ley del Organismo Judicial to say the same thing. Article 51 gives the Centro Nacional de Metrología (CENAME) the job of promoting the application of SI; CENAME sits within the Dirección del Sistema Nacional de la Calidad of the Ministerio de Economía.
The law sets the official system. Even so, the government publications cited below still print prices and areas in older units such as the quintal and the manzana.
Conversion table
These are the equivalents printed in the conversion table of INE’s Lineamientos para la Elaboración del Compendio Estadístico Ambiental de Guatemala, 2020 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), with INE’s precision kept.
| Unit | What it measures | INE’s SI equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| libra avoirdupois | mass | 0.4535924 kg |
| libra española | mass | 0.460 kg |
| arroba española | mass | 11.500 kg |
| quintal español | mass | 46.000 kg |
| quintal corto (inglés) | mass | 45.359240 kg |
| galón (USA) | volume | 3.785412 L |
| vara | length | 0.835906 m |
| cuerda | length | 20.900 m |
| vara cuadrada | area | 0.698738840 m2 |
| cuerda cuadrada | area | 436.810 m2 |
| manzana | area | 6,987.3884 m2 |
| caballería | area | 451,250 m2 |
| hectárea | area | 10,000.00 m2 |
Source: INE, Lineamientos para la Elaboración del Compendio Estadístico Ambiental de Guatemala, 2020, conversion table (p. 33); read 10 November 2026.
The same INE document has a second, shorter Tabla de Medidas para Guatemala for land. It prints 1 manzana = 10,000 varas2 = 0.6988 hectáreas, 1 cuerda = 1,600 varas2, and 1 caballería = 45.12 hectáreas = 64.5816 manzanas (written there as 451,256.54). The two INE tables do not match on the cuerda (436.810 m2 in one, 1,600 square varas in the other) or exactly on the caballería, which is one reason to ask any seller what a cuerda means in their quote.
Food: libras and quintales
The Ministerio de Agricultura (MAGA) uses both units in the same report. Its January 2022 crop-monitoring report (Sistema de Monitoreo de Cultivos) prices white maize and black beans paid to retailers in Quetzales/libra, and wholesale prices per quintal, with the note:
“1 quintal = 100 libras (45.45 kilogramos)”
MAGA’s El Agro en Cifras 2013 glossary defines the quintal as 100 libras or 46 kilograms. So the libra count is fixed at 100, while the kilogram figure printed by MAGA varies between publications (45.45 and 46), and INE’s table separates a 46.000 kg Spanish quintal from a 45.359240 kg short English quintal. For a large purchase, ask for the weight in kilograms or libras rather than in quintales.
For current shop prices, see the grocery prices page and the grocery shopping guide.
Fuel: per galón
The Ministerio de Energía y Minas (MEM) monitors pump prices nationwide and reports them per gallon. Its notice on permanent fuel-price monitoring gives the 28 August 2026 self-service averages in Guatemala City as Gasolina Regular at Q38.76 por galón and diesel at Q45.37 por galón. INE’s table identifies the unit as the US gallon, 3.785412 litres. Current prices are on the gas prices page.
Land: varas, manzanas, cuerdas and caballerías
Land is where unit mix-ups cost the most money.
- Vara vs vara cuadrada. A vara is a length (0.835906 m in INE’s table); a vara cuadrada is an area (0.698738840 m2). A frontage given in varas is a length, not an area.
- Manzana. 10,000 square varas. INE prints 6,987.3884 m2 (conversion table) and 0.6988 hectares (land table). MAGA’s 2013 glossary prints 0.7050 hectares, a different figure.
- Cuerda. INE prints two values in the same document (see the conversion table above). The size of a cuerda should be written into any land deal in square metres or square varas.
- Caballería. INE prints 451,250 m2 in one table and 45.12 hectares (64.5816 manzanas) in the other.
The land prices per square metre page counts how many land adverts use manzanas, varas, caballerías, cuerdas and other units.
Building materials
If a builders’ merchant quotes cement or rebar by the quintal, check what that quote covers. The cement price and rebar price pages give prices per bag and per bar and explain what to ask when a supplier quotes per quintal.
Sources
- Ministerio de Economía: Decreto 78-2005, Ley del Sistema Nacional de la Calidad, Articles 49, 51, 63 and 88; read 10 November 2026.
- Dirección del Sistema Nacional de la Calidad: CENAME; read 10 November 2026.
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística: Lineamientos para la Elaboración del Compendio Estadístico Ambiental de Guatemala, 2020, conversion table and Tabla de Medidas para Guatemala; read 10 November 2026.
- MAGA: Sistema de Monitoreo de Cultivos report, January 2022, price tables and quintal note; read 10 November 2026.
- MAGA: El Agro en Cifras 2013, glossary; read 10 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Energía y Minas: Seguimiento permanente de los precios de combustible a nivel nacional; read 10 November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What measurement system does Guatemala use?
The metric system, officially. Article 63 of Decreto 78-2005, the Ley del Sistema Nacional de la Calidad, makes the International System of Units (SI) the official system of compulsory use throughout the country. Government publications still quote fuel per galón and grain per libra and quintal, and INE lists land units such as varas, manzanas and caballerías.
How many pounds are in a quintal in Guatemala?
100 libras. MAGA’s January 2022 market report gives 1 quintal = 100 libras (45.45 kilograms); its El Agro en Cifras 2013 glossary says 100 libras or 46 kilograms. INE’s conversion table lists a quintal español of 46.000 kg and a short English quintal of 45.359240 kg.
Is gas sold by the gallon or the litre in Guatemala?
By the gallon. The Ministerio de Energía y Minas reports fuel prices por galón. INE’s conversion table gives the US gallon as 3.785412 litres.
How big is a manzana?
10,000 square varas. INE’s conversion table gives 6,987.3884 m2 and its land table 0.6988 hectares; MAGA’s El Agro en Cifras 2013 glossary gives 0.7050 hectares.
What is a vara, and is a square vara the same thing?
No. In INE’s table a vara is a length of 0.835906 m, and a vara cuadrada (square vara) is an area of 0.698738840 m2. When a land price is quoted per vara, ask whether it means a length or a square vara.
