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Guatemala: cities by population

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated · UN World Population Prospects

Guatemala has a population of 18,967,978 (UN estimate, 2026), with Guatemala City as its capital. The 50 largest of its 325 recorded towns and cities, ranked.

+62%
since 2000 (11,697,592)
+30%
projected by 2050 (24,670,857)
177
people per km²
19501975200020252050 3.1M 24.7M
UN estimates to 2026; the dashed line is the medium-variant projection to 2050, a forecast rather than a measurement. Source: World Population Prospects 2024.
Full UN series, 1950 to 2050
YearPopulation
19503,097,198
19756,128,731
200011,697,592
200513,087,629
201014,500,112
201515,971,743
202017,357,325
202518,687,881
202618,967,978
2030 projected20,067,253
2050 projected24,670,857

Medium variant. Figures from 2026 onward are projections, not measurements.

Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.

Largest cities in Guatemala

#PlaceRegionPopulation
1Guatemala CityGuatemala994,938
2Villa NuevaGuatemala618,397
3MixcoGuatemala465,773
4CobánAlta Verapaz212,047
5QuetzaltenangoQuetzaltenango180,706
6JalapaJalapa159,840
7EscuintlaEscuintla156,313
8Villa CanalesGuatemala155,423
9JutiapaJutiapa145,880
10ChichicastenangoQuiché141,567
11San Juan SacatepéquezGuatemala136,886
12PetapaGuatemala135,447
13Santa Lucía CotzumalguapaEscuintla112,780
14ChiquimulaChiquimula111,505
15CoatepequeQuetzaltenango105,415
16ChinautlaGuatemala104,972
17TotonicapánTotonicapán103,952
18Puerto BarriosIzabal Department100,593
19ChimaltenangoChimaltenango96,985
20MalacatánSan Marcos92,816
21RetalhuleuRetalhuleu90,505
22Santa Catarina PinulaGuatemala80,582
23San José PinulaGuatemala79,844
24HuehuetenangoHuehuetenango79,426
25Santa Cruz del QuichéQuiché78,279
26MazatenangoSuchitepeque77,431
27PanzosAlta Verapaz71,846
28AmatitlánGuatemala71,836
29PalínEscuintla65,873
30SalamáBaja Verapaz65,275
31ChicacaoSuchitepeque60,735
32ZacapaZacapa60,424
33ComitancilloSan Marcos59,489
34FraijanesGuatemala58,922
35San Pedro AyampucGuatemala58,609
36PatzúnChimaltenango58,240
37San Francisco El AltoTotonicapán57,894
38OstuncalcoQuetzaltenango51,828
39SolomaHuehuetenango49,030
40Asunción MitaJutiapa48,297
41ColombaQuetzaltenango47,544
42BarberenaSanta Rosa Department47,093
43San MarcosSan Marcos47,063
44Antigua GuatemalaSacatepéquez46,054
45SololáSololá45,373
46MasaguaEscuintla45,323
47CantelQuetzaltenango42,142
48CuilapaSanta Rosa Department41,359
49PatululSuchitepeque40,683
50San Pedro SacatepéquezSan Marcos40,021

Twenty years earlier: Guatemala in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 12,328,453.

Common questions

What is the population of Guatemala?
Guatemala has a population of 18,967,978, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 24,670,857 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Guatemala?
Guatemala City.

Go deeper

Guatemala City
The largest place we record in Guatemala: 994,938 people
Guatemala in 2005
The World Gazetteer's archive edition: 12,328,453 then
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