Military service age and obligation: all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 are liable for military service; conscript service obligation varies from 12 to 24 months (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 2,429,033
females age 18-49: 2,503,482 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,911,412
females age 18-49: 2,070,806 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 134,032
females age 18-49: 130,641 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$169.8 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.5% (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues Guatemala
Disputes - international:
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rain forests of
Belize's border region; Organization of American States (OAS) is
attempting to revive the 2002 failed Differendum that created a
small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in
Caribbean, a joint ecological park for the disputed Sapodilla Cays,
and a substantial US-UK financial package; Guatemalans enter Mexico
illegally seeking work or transit to the US
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: undetermined (estimates vary from none to 1 million displaced
from government's scorched-earth offensive in 1980s against
indigenous people) (2006)
Illicit drugs:
major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2004, reemerged as
a potential source of opium, growing 330 hectares of opium poppy,
with potential pure heroin production of 1.4 metric tons; 76% of
opium poppy cultivation in western highlands along Mexican border;
marijuana cultivation for mostly domestic consumption; proximity to
Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (particularly
for cocaine); money laundering is a serious problem; corruption is a
major problem