page_title: Huehuetenango Department
section_title: Population
hierarchical_section_title: Huehuetenango Department / Population
caption_attribution_description: English: The Catholic church in San Mateo Ixtatán, Huehuetenango department, Guatemala. Español: La iglesia católica en San Mateo Ixtatán, en el departamento de Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
context_page_description: Huehuetenango is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It is situated in the western highlands and shares borders with the Mexican state of Chiapas in the north and west; with El Quiché in the east, with Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango and San Marcos to the south. The capital is the city of Huehuetenango.
  Huehuetenango's ethnic composition is one of the most diverse in Guatemala. While the Mam are predominant in the department, other Maya groups are the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Jakaltek, Tektik, Awakatek, Chalchitek, Akatek and K'iche'. Each of these nine Maya ethnic groups speaks its own language.
context_section_description: In 2018 the department was recorded as having 1,170,669 inhabitants. Over 70% of the population are calculated to be living in poverty, with 22% living in extreme poverty and being unable to meet basic necessities. The majority of the population (variously estimated at 64–75%)  belongs to indigenous Maya groups with the remainder being Spanish-speaking Ladinos. The Ladinos tend to be concentrated in towns and villages including Huehuetenango, Cuilco, Chiantla, Malacatancito, La Libertad, San Antonio Huista and La Democracia, which have a relatively low indigenous population. In the rest of the department, the Maya groups make up the majority of the population as much in the towns as the countryside. Huehuetenango has the greatest number of Mam Maya in Guatemala, although there are also Mam speakers in the departments of Quetzaltenango and San Marcos, and in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
  In 2008, 58% of the population of the department was aged 19 years or under.
caption: San Mateo Ixtatán.
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