Country · score from open sources
Guatemala
Latin America & Caribbean
HRI 32 of 100: higher means riskier. Calm ≤33, risky ≥56. Both rays measure risk: the longer the ray, the worse.
conflict, political instability, inflation
news sentiment for the country
Horizons & uncertainty
Central line = today's level. On 4,428 country-years, assuming no change proved about twice as accurate as extrapolating a trend, so we don't invent one. The band is the calibrated 80% range of historical outcomes; * = horizon not covered by the backtest. How we tested this →
What this means for entering
2 areas needing a decision before you commitContract enforcement
Weak courts: do not count on judicial recovery. Prepayment, letters of credit, offshore arbitration and a local partner with skin in the game.
Why, and what to do about it →
Rule of law -0.96 on the WGI scale (−2.5 to +2.5), weak-courts threshold −0.8; worse than 78% of countries. Courts are statistically unreliable as a recovery route.
- First contracts: prepayment or a confirmed letter of credit
- An offshore arbitration clause (ICC, LCIA, SCC) plus counterparty assets the award can actually reach
- A local partner with a share of the result, not a commission
- A receivables cap per counterparty and stop-shipment on overdue payment
Deal economics: Credit terms here are an unsecured loan: price that risk into margin or move it into the cost of a letter of credit.
Regulation & licensing
Middling regulatory environment: permits are obtainable but timelines slip. Add a buffer to the launch plan.
Why, and what to do about it →
Regulatory quality -0.31 on the WGI scale (−2.5 to +2.5), unpredictability threshold −0.8; worse than 59% of countries. Permits are obtainable, but timelines regularly slip.
- A buffer in the launch plan
- A pre-filing consultation with the regulator
- A licence list with actual, not stated, timelines
Deal economics: A one-quarter launch slip is a normal scenario here: check that year-one unit economics survive it.
Corruption exposure
High corruption exposure: informal payments are likely, and for EU/US companies that is FCPA / UK Bribery Act risk. You need hard compliance controls and staff training.
Why, and what to do about it →
Control of corruption -0.95 on the WGI scale (−2.5 to +2.5), high-exposure threshold −0.8; worse than 79% of countries. Informal payments are part of the operating environment, not an exception.
- Anti-corruption policy and staff training before the first government contact
- No 'facilitators' through intermediaries: you answer for your agents' actions
- A log of every interaction with officials
- If the group touches the US or UK: FCPA/UKBA compliance is mandatory, not optional
Deal economics: FCPA fines are computed off group revenue, not the local branch: one 'facilitating' payment can cost more than this entire market.
Physical security
Localised armed incidents are recorded. Check whether they touch your regions of operation: the country is not uniform.
Why, and what to do about it →
Conflict intensity 29 of 100 on the UCDP log scale (active-violence threshold 45, watch threshold 20). This counts confirmed casualties over ~12 months, not news tone.
- Match the event map in the dossier against your regions of operation
- A travel policy with per-region risk tiers
- Re-assess quarterly: localised conflicts migrate
Deal economics: Costs depend on geography inside the country: a capital office and a border warehouse carry different risk profiles and insurance prices.
Pricing & currency
Inflation 1.5%: pricing can be planned on a normal annual cycle.
Why, and what to do about it →
Inflation 1.5% a year (World Bank, CPI): within a normal planning cycle.
- Annual pricing works as is
Deal economics: Currency and price risk is budget-normal.
Operational continuity
Medium disaster exposure: check seasonal hazards and logistics headroom.
Why, and what to do about it →
INFORM Risk 5.3 of 10 (medium band 3.5 to 6.5, EU JRC): hazard exposure 5.5, coping capacity 4.9 (higher is worse).
- Check seasonal hazards for your regions
- Logistics headroom for the peak season
Deal economics: Targeted property and cargo insurance usually covers the risk without heavy infrastructure.
Derived mechanically from the live values on this page using published scales (World Bank WGI −2.5…+2.5, INFORM 0–10, UCDP intensity). Operational guidance, not legal advice.
Why this verdict
What drives the risk
data- Conflict (UCDP)29
- Political instability (WGI)54
- Inflation4
- Travel advisories · soonn/a
Conflict data: UCDP/GED, Uppsala University (CC BY 4.0).
News background
dataGDELT global news tone. Moderately negative.
Doing business: governance
WGI- Rule of law-0.96
- Regulatory quality-0.31
- Control of corruption-0.95
World Bank WGI, −2.5 to +2.5 (higher is better). Shown separately, not folded into HRI, because the weights aren't backtested.
Disasters & resilience
INFORM 2026- Hazard5.5
- Vulnerability5.6
- Lack of coping capacity4.9
INFORM Risk, European Commission JRC. A separate layer, deliberately not folded into HRI, which measures conflict, political instability and inflation.
Next steps
Once the data points to a market, the entry itself is a path, and we help with each step.
Scenario session (Custom Research)
A facilitated SWOT-style session with the School: your team's readiness and blind spots for this market.
How it works →Partners & leads on the ground
Once a market is chosen: vetted local partners and lead generation to enter without burning budget.
Talk to us →Market content & launch
Localized social and content for the new market, so the entry is visible from day one.
See how →🔒 Full access: 1 year, 3 years and 10 years
Long horizons, verdict-change alerts and briefs come with paid packages.
Arxterra is for information only and is not investment, legal, tax or any other advice, an offer or a recommendation. Scores are computed from the listed sources; we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. You make decisions yourself. Conflict data: UCDP/GED, Uppsala University (CC BY 4.0); governance & economy: World Bank; news: The GDELT Project.