Soldier Salary in Guatemala 2026: Troop Stipends by Rank and the February Increase

How much does a soldier earn in Guatemala? A soldado de segunda (second-class soldier) in the tropa (troops) receives an estipendio (stipend) of Q3,725 plus Q250: Q3,975 a month, with Q3,783.63 net after deductions, according to the monthly public information published by the Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional (Ministry of Defense), under article 10, numeral 4, of the Ley de Acceso a la Información Pública (Public Information Access Law). These figures are from the August 2026 table. In January 2026, the same rank received Q2,875 in total.

Quick summary (August 2026): Soldado de segunda Q3,975 (Q3,783.63 net) · Soldado de primera Q3,991 (Q3,799.07 net) · Cabo Q4,018 · Sargento segundo Q4,035 · Sargento primero Q4,073. In January, a soldado de segunda received Q2,875 (Q2,686.95 net); the total increased by Q1,100 in February. Soldiers in the especialistas (specialist personnel) career have a separate table: Q7,009 to Q7,811.02 in total gross pay for a soldado de segunda.

Troop stipends by rank (August 2026)

The table is titled «ESTIPENDIO QUE LE CORRESPONDE A LOS ELEMENTOS DE TROPA» [stipend payable to troop personnel]. It comes from the Negociado de Salarios de la DGFMDN (DGFMDN salary office) and covers 1 to 31 August 2026:

Notes from the table:

• The allocations have columns for the stipend, bono 66-2000 (bonus under 66-2000) and bono de riesgo (risk bonus). The March, July and August 2026 tables show a single Q250 amount beside the stipend, with no separate risk-bonus amount. In January and February, the Q250 appeared in the bono 66-2000 column.
• Centro Médico Militar (Military Medical Center): 3.5% plus Q10. In the soldado de segunda row, the displayed contribution is Q130.38 plus Q10, giving Q140.38.
• PEVECOM: Q1. The table identifies it as «PELOTÓN DE VETERANOS DE COMBATE, ASIGNADO AL CADEG» [combat veterans platoon assigned to CADEG].
• Prima de riesgo Kaibil (Kaibil risk allowance): a fixed Q200 if the course has been passed; it is not added to the amounts in these rows.

How pay changed in 2026: January, February and March

The monthly tables on the same portal show the change by rank. For a soldado de segunda:

Between January and February, the total increased by Q1,100, from Q2,875 to Q3,975, through the risk bonus. In March, that amount was incorporated into the stipend and the total stayed the same. The same pattern appears in the other troop ranks: a soldado de primera went from Q2,891 in January to Q3,991 in February, and a sargento primero from Q2,973 to Q4,073.

The Q2,701 and Q2,686.95 figures reported in February refer to January-level net pay. On 17 February 2026, according to Congress’s report, deputy Fidencio Lima said that soldados de primera earned Q2,701 and soldados de segunda Q2,686.95 when presenting an initiative to reform article 113 of the Ley Constitutiva del Ejército (Army Constitutive Law), Decreto 72-90. MINDEF’s January table gives Q2,701.83 and Q2,686.95 in net pay, respectively. The first figure in the Congress report is not an exact match to the table. This page does not establish what subsequently happened to the initiative.

MINDEF labels troop pay as an estipendio. For the separate civilian pay scale, see Guatemala’s minimum wage.

Soldiers in the specialist career

The Ministry of Defense publishes separate tables in the same workbook for personal de especialistas, using the same rank names: soldado de segunda, soldado de primera, cabo and sergeants. Their pay has a different structure: sueldo base (base pay); bonificación bienal (biennial bonus), which increases every two years by Q30 at the operational level, Q40 at the specialized level, or Q50 at the air, land and naval technical levels; a prima de responsabilidad (responsibility allowance) of Q1,000; bono 66-2000 of Q250; and a bono de riesgo that varies by series. Deductions are 12% for IPM and a Centro Médico Militar contribution of 2% of base pay plus Q15.

For a specialist soldado de primera, total gross pay in August 2026 ranged from Q7,209.88 at operational level O1 to Q8,026.90 in air force series T7.

Escuela Politécnica cadets

The August 2026 table titled «BONO DE ESTUDIO PERSONAL DE CADETES DE LA ESCUELA POLITECNICA» [study allowance for Escuela Politécnica cadets] lists a study allowance by semester, plus Q250 bono 66-2000 and Q100 bono de riesgo: Q995 in the first semester and Q1,430 in the eighth.

What this page does not cover

This page covers troop stipends, specialist pay and cadet allowances. It does not establish headcounts by rank, food, accommodation or uniform benefits, current enlistment requirements, or officers’ pay.

Other public-sector pay scales

• PNC police pay
• Teacher pay
• Members of Congress’s pay
• Salaries in Guatemala · Guatemala’s minimum wage

Sources

• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Public information under article 10, numeral 4
• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Funcionarios_servidores_publicos_empleados_2026, August 2026 (troops, specialists and cadets)
• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Funcionarios_servidores_publicos_empleados_2026, January 2026 (troop table)
• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Funcionarios_servidores_publicos_empleados_2026, February 2026 (troop table)
• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Funcionarios_servidores_publicos_empleados_2026, March 2026 (troop table)
• Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional: Funcionarios_servidores_publicos_empleados_2026, July 2026 (troop table)
• Congreso de la República: Iniciativa pretende mejorar el salario de los soldados, 17 February 2026