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What share of Guatemala's territory is cadastred, and why don't the registry and the cadastre match?

According to the cited documentsLand and property

National territory under cadastre

14.6%

Of ~108,000 km²2023Instituto Guatemalteco de Derecho Notarial

The Guatemalan Institute of Notarial Law describes Guatemala as a “country of possessors, not of owners”: less than 20% of the territory is cadastred, the article (Nov 20, 2023) puts 14.6% of the national territory (~108,000 km²) under cadastre and 959.9 km² surveyed in 2023, and only a small fraction is recorded in the registries. The article does not identify the primary source of that figure and the RIC publishes no consolidated official percentage. The consequence for the investor: the register (legal) and the cadastre (physical) are not reconciled across most of the country, the recorded property may not match the actual polygon, and in rural areas an independent topographic survey plus verification at the RIC, where a cadastred zone exists, is advisable.

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  • Area surveyed in the year959.9 km²2023Instituto Guatemalteco de Derecho Notarial

Sources

  • Instituto Guatemalteco de Derecho Notarial

    “País de poseedores, no de propietarios”

    • National territory under cadastre
    • Area surveyed in the year
    institutonotarial.org.gtAccessed Aug 19, 2026Go to the source