Guatemala Population

Guatemala has among the highest fertility rates in Latin America, kept up in part by a large Indigenous population, though the rate is now falling. The country stays young and growing even as emigration to the United States, often by young adults and unaccompanied minors, has surged. That outflow is a defining feature of its recent demographic story.

With roughly 18.8 million people as of 2026, Guatemala ranks 70th in the world by population. A country of Central America, its trajectory to 2100 is governed by how births, deaths and migration play out. Population density stands at about 177 people for every square kilometre of land.

Guatemala is projected to keep growing until about 2078, when its population peaks at roughly 27.2 million before a gradual decline sets in, leaving it near 26.0 million by 2100.

Half of Guatemala is currently younger than about 23, but by 2100 the median age is projected to reach around 45, while life expectancy, near 73 years, keeps rising. An older population gradually reshapes the labour force, pension systems and healthcare demand.

Fertility is around 2.29 births per woman, above the replacement level, which keeps natural growth positive for now.

All of this is a projection, not a prediction. The further out it runs the wider the plausible range becomes, which is why Guatemala's charts show a low-to-high band around the central line.