Urban population growth in Guatemala
Guatemala: Urban population growth was 2.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Guatemala, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Guatemala recorded 2.1% for urban population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Guatemala peaked at 6.7% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1977.
Guatemala ranks 66th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.6% | — |
| 1962 | 4.4% | -2.9% |
| 1963 | 4.3% | -3.4% |
| 1964 | 4.1% | -3.2% |
| 1965 | 4.1% | -0.8% |
| 1966 | 4.1% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 4.0% | -1.9% |
| 1968 | 3.9% | -3.3% |
| 1969 | 3.7% | -5.3% |
| 1970 | 3.5% | -6.0% |
| 1971 | 3.2% | -7.2% |
| 1972 | 2.9% | -8.2% |
| 1973 | 2.6% | -10.7% |
| 1974 | 1.9% | -27.9% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | -40.7% |
| 1976 | 0.4% | -64.5% |
| 1977 | 0.2% | -44.3% |
| 1978 | 0.5% | +135.2% |
| 1979 | 0.8% | +62.4% |
| 1980 | 1.4% | +70.7% |
| 1981 | 2.3% | +55.3% |
| 1982 | 2.4% | +5.2% |
| 1983 | 2.6% | +10.1% |
| 1984 | 3.1% | +17.0% |
| 1985 | 3.2% | +3.5% |
| 1986 | 3.2% | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 3.2% | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 3.4% | +3.5% |
| 1989 | 3.4% | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 3.5% | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 3.5% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 3.5% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 3.5% | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 3.7% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 4.6% | +25.1% |
| 1996 | 5.7% | +24.7% |
| 1997 | 6.4% | +12.0% |
| 1998 | 6.7% | +5.1% |
| 1999 | 6.6% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 6.2% | -6.7% |
| 2001 | 5.6% | -10.2% |
| 2002 | 4.7% | -15.2% |
| 2003 | 4.0% | -15.0% |
| 2004 | 3.8% | -5.2% |
| 2005 | 3.7% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 3.6% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 3.2% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 3.1% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 3.0% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 2.9% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 2.6% | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | -7.6% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | -7.8% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -15.6% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | +22.9% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 2.2% | +6.0% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 2.1% | -1.6% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 2.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.0%, 2.2× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 2.1% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.7%, 2.9× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Guatemala changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +135.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| 1980 | +70.7% | 0.8% | 1.4% |
| 1979 | +62.4% | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| 1976 | -64.5% | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| 1981 | +55.3% | 1.4% | 2.3% |
| 1977 | -44.3% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.1% | 3.7% | 4.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.7% | 0.2% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.8% | 1.4% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.8% | 3.5% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.2% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 1.8% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More climate change data for Guatemala
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 248.53 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 11,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 3,365 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 8,617 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 12.7 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 307.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,636 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,566 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 69.61 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 5.91 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Guatemala?
- Urban population growth in Guatemala was 2.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 6.7% in 1998.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1977.
- How does Guatemala rank for urban population growth?
- Guatemala ranks 66th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guatemala data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.