How many people live in Guatemala right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
19,055,559
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 69 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.23%
- Median age
- 23.8 years
- Children per woman
- 2.23
- Life expectancy
- 73.0 years
- People per km²
- 177
According to UN estimates, about 19.1 million people live in Guatemala right now. It ranks 69th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Senegal and Romania, and it is home to one in every 437 people on the planet.
Every day, about 1,000 people are born there and about 260 die. Overall, the population grows by about 770 people a day (1.47% a year).
In 1950, about 3.1 million people lived there. Today there are 6.2 times as many. The UN expects it to peak around 2077, at about 27.2 million, and then begin to fall. By 2050 it is projected to have about 24.7 million people (29% more than today), and by 2100 about 25.9 million.
Half of its people are younger than 24 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 2.23 children each, above the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 73 years (worldwide, 74). There are 177 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Guatemala in 2026?
- Guatemala has about 19.1 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 18,967,978.
- How many people are born each day in Guatemala?
- About 1,000 a day (380,000 a year). About 260 people die each day (93,500 a year).
- Is the population of Guatemala growing?
- Yes: it grows by 1.47% a year, or about 279,000 people.
- What will the population of Guatemala be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 24.7 million, with a peak around 2077 at about 27.2 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Somalia 20,510,451
- Chile 19,971,238
- Senegal 19,504,994
- Romania 18,766,014
- Netherlands 18,476,981
- Ecuador 18,493,692
More countries in the Americas
- United States 349,570,536
- Brazil 213,783,507
- Mexico 133,319,744
- Colombia 54,089,626
- Argentina 46,051,045
- Canada 40,567,031
- Peru 35,027,397
- Venezuela 28,673,179
- Chile 19,971,238
- Ecuador 18,493,692
- Bolivia 12,801,705
- Haiti 12,078,605
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.