The distribution of wealth and income in Guatemala remains highly skewed. Total population is close to 13 million. 80% of the population lives in poverty, and two-thirds of that number--or 7.6 million people live in extreme poverty.

Guatemala's Social Development Indicators, such as infant mortality and illiteracy, are among the worst in the hemisphere. Chronic malnutrition among the rural poor worsened with the onset of the crisis in coffee prices.

The country's high rates of illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are even higher among rural indigenous peoples.

About 5 million people or 60 percent of the population live in rural areas, and 81 percent of rural people are indigenous.

Most rural Guatemalans depend upon agriculture, either as subsistence farmers or agricultural day laborers. Incomes are supplemented through small rural enterprises, especially the production of handicrafts.