Guatemala

Guatemala

Central America

Central America
58
Overall score
Moderate overall
Language
Spanish
Currency
GTQ
Citizenship
5 years
Personal tax
5% / 7% on employment income
Cost of living
$850 / mo (single)

A low-tax Central American country with a 5-year citizenship path and low university tuition, but a weaker passport.

Pros

  • A 5-year citizenship path
  • Low university tuition

Cons

  • A weaker passport

Best for

Low-tax relocatorsStudents

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
67
Citizenship
70
Residence
30
Money & business
Taxes
70
Corporate tax
29
Business
44
Investment
53
Economy
67
Wealth building
60
Living, study & work
Education
45
Salary & work
60
Cost of living
81
Buying power
65
Quality of life
Safety
23
Healthcare
51
Infrastructure
56
HDI
66

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Good
67

Passport-index style mobility for the Guatemala passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

132 / 198
Mobility
#40
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free90
  • On arrival38
  • eTA4
  • Visa required66

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Good
70
Years required5 years
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageCheck the current naturalisation rules for the selected route
ResidenceTypical headline route: 5 years; qualifying residence and absence rules apply
NotesRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Limited
30
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock0.5% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality-0.31 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
EmploymentStudyFamily reunificationBusiness or investment where eligible
StudentRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.
WorkRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.
Self-employedRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.
PermanentRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Good
70
Personal5% / 7% on employment income
Corporate25% on net income or optional gross-income regime
Capital gainsTreatment varies by asset, holding structure, residence, and treaty position
DividendsRates and withholding depend on residence and treaty eligibility
Exit taxCheck current domestic rules before changing tax residence
Foreign cosManagement, permanent-establishment, CFC, and reporting rules may apply
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Excellent
87
Personal5% / 7% on employment income
FreelanceRegistration, immigration permission, tax, and social contributions may apply
Capital gainsTreatment varies by asset, holding structure, residence, and treaty position
DividendsRates and withholding depend on residence and treaty eligibility
Exit taxCheck current domestic rules before changing tax residence
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Low
29
Corporate25% on net income or optional gross-income regime
Capital gainsTreatment varies by asset, holding structure, residence, and treaty position
DividendsRates and withholding depend on residence and treaty eligibility
Foreign cosManagement, permanent-establishment, CFC, and reporting rules may apply
Business
Business friendliness
Limited
44
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality-0.31 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness-0.91 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Generally possible, subject to sector, registration, tax, and substance rules
Local co.Available company forms and capital requirements vary
FreelanceRegistration, immigration permission, tax, and social contributions may apply
Corporate tax25% on net income or optional gross-income regime
Capital gainsTreatment varies by asset, holding structure, residence, and treaty position
Exit taxCheck current domestic rules before changing tax residence
Foreign cosManagement, permanent-establishment, CFC, and reporting rules may apply
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Moderate
53
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Private credit37% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gainsTreatment varies by asset, residence, holding period, and treaty position
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxCheck current national and subnational rules
BrokersLocal and international availability varies by residency and compliance checks
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Good
67
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$113.2B (2024)
GDP / person$6,150 (2024)
GNI / person$14,170 PPP (2024)
GDP growth3.7% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation2.9% / yr (2024)
Unemployment2.6% (2025)
Output per worker$31,774 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture9.8% of GDP (2024)
Industry21.7% of GDP (2024)
Services61.8% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
Agriculture (coffee, sugar)Textiles & apparelFood processingTourismMining
Top exports
CoffeeSugarBananasApparelCardamom
TypeUpper-middle-income, agri- and remittance-led
Key sectorsAgriculture, Apparel manufacturing, Remittances
SummaryCentral America's largest economy, built on agriculture and apparel, with remittances a major income source.
CurrencyGuatemalan quetzal
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Moderate
60
How this score is calculated

How favourable Guatemala is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Moderate
49
Business
Moderate
48
Investment
Moderate
58
Tax friendliness
Good
70
Cost of living
Excellent
81

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Moderate
45
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling10.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling5.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment27% gross (2023)
Education spending3.1% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Tuition$2,000–10,000 / yr
Public uniVaries by institution, programme, and student nationality
LanguagesSpanish
Student workRules depend on status and circumstances; verify the current requirements with the competent authority before acting.
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Moderate
60
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$31,774 PPP (2024)
Unemployment2.6% (2025)
Participation59.6% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Mean monthly earnings of employees
Overall$387 · $864 PPP (2024)
Tech (IT & comms)$619 · $1,382 PPP (2024)

Source: ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)

FreelanceMarket access depends on language, sector, and work authorisation
Job marketUse current local vacancy and salary data for role-specific decisions.
Cost of living
Affordability
Excellent
81

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level45 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

RentVaries substantially by city and neighbourhood
Monthly$850 / mo (single)
CitiesGuatemala City, Antigua Guatemala
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
65
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$14,170 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$12,087 PPP (2024)
Price level45 (US = 100) (2024)
Income inequality45.2 Gini (2023)
Inflation2.9% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Low
23
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate23.4 per 100,000 (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law-0.96 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption-0.95 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability-0.21 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Moderate
51
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy72.7 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality20.5 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians1.28 per 1,000 (2020)
Hospital beds0.45 per 1,000 (2023)
Health spending$935 PPP / person (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemPublic/private mix varies by eligibility and residence status
InsuranceCheck residence-permit and local coverage requirements
Avg costDepends on eligibility, income, insurer, and chosen coverage
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Moderate
56
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use60.2% (2024)
Internet resilience47 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed74 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed62 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses12.4% of output (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality2.40 / 5 (2022)
Rail density8.3 km / 1,000 km² (2004)
Air connectivity91 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Good
66
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.662 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy72.6 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling10.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling5.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$12,459 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.