The Maya in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras

The modern Maya are not a single population. They are a constellation of distinct peoples, each with its own language, history, traditional territory, and sense of identity, distributed across four modern nation-states: Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras, with a substantial diaspora in the United States, Canada, and Europe. This pages maps the regional distribution of the modern Maya, with detailed attention to the major linguistic and ethnic groups in each country. It is part of the site’s broader coverage of the living Maya: heritage and modern descendants, and links to the pages on how many Maya there are, where they live, and what languages they speak.

The page is organized by country, with additional sections on the cultural diversity of the modern Maya and on the Maya diaspora. The broader political and cultural context of the 21st-century Maya situation is treated on the modern Maya identity and survival page, and the linguistic situation in more detail on the Maya languages today page.

The Maya of Guatemala

Guatemala is the demographic heart of the modern Maya world. According to the 2018 census, roughly 6.4 million people in Guatemala identified as Maya, around 40 percent of the national population. Guatemala is also the home of the largest number of distinct Maya languages (22 are officially recognized), and the greatest diversity of regional Maya cultures.

The Western Highlands

The western highlands of Guatemala, encompassing the departments of Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Totonicapán, and El Quiché, are the most densely Maya part of the country. The major linguistic groups in the western highlands include:

K’iche’, the largest Maya language by number of speakers in Guatemala (around 1.1 million), with major communities in El Quiché (especially around Chichicastenango and Santa Cruz del Quiché), Totonicapán (the second most K’iche’-speaking department), Quetzaltenango, and Sololá. The K’iche’ heartland was the site of the pre-Columbian K’iche’ Kingdom of Q’umarkaj (Utatlán), which was conquered by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. The K’iche’ are also famous for the Popol Vuh, the creation narrative transcribed in the 16th century.
Mam, the third-largest Maya language, with around 500,000–700,000 speakers, concentrated in Huehuetenango (the Mam heartland), San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, and parts of Retalhuleu. The Mam are also found across the border in Chiapas, Mexico, and the cross-border Mam community is one of the most important in the region.
Ixil, with around 70,000 speakers, concentrated in the Ixil triangle of Nebaj, Chajul, and Cotzal in the department of El Quiché. The Ixil heartland was one of the regions most affected by the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and the Ixil community is central to the recovery of historical memory and the pursuit of justice for war crimes.
Q’anjob’al, Chuj, Awakateko, Jakalteko (Popti’), Tektiteko, and Akateko, the six small Maya languages of Huehuetenango, with a combined speaker population of around 200,000. These communities are concentrated in the western part of the department, near the Mexican border.

The western highlands are also the home of the Sololá region, on the north shore of Lake Atitlán, where the Tz’utujil Maya (around 50,000 speakers) and the Kaqchikel Maya (around 500,000 speakers) have their major communities. The Kaqchikel are the second-largest Maya language by speakers in Guatemala, and the Kaqchikel capital of Iximche’ was one of the major pre-Columbian kingdoms of the region.

The Central Highlands

The central highlands of Guatemala, including the departments of Chimaltenango, Sacatepéquez, and Guatemala, are dominated by Kaqchikel Maya, with substantial Poqomam communities in the eastern part. The Kaqchikel heartland includes important textile centers such as Comalapa (famous for its painted wooden carvings and distinctive huipil), Patzún, Patzicía, and San Juan Sacatepéquez. The Kaqchikel capital of Iximche’ is one of the major pre-Columbian Maya sites, and the modern Kaqchikel community has been central to the Pan-Maya movement of the 20th century.

The Eastern Highlands

The eastern highlands of Guatemala, including the departments of Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz, are dominated by the Q’eqchi’ Maya, the second-largest Maya language by number of speakers (around 800,000–1,000,000). The Q’eqchi’ heartland is centered on the towns of Cobán (the departmental capital of Alta Verapaz), Lanquín, San Pedro Carchá, and Chisec. The Q’eqchi’ have a substantial presence in the Petén lowland as well, where they have migrated in the 20th century. The Achi Maya of Baja Verapaz and the Poqomchi’ Maya of Alta Verapaz are also found in the eastern highlands.

The Southern Coast and the Petén

The southern coast of Guatemala is home to small Maya communities, including Poqomam and Xinca (the latter is not a Maya language but is often associated with the Maya area in popular discourse). The Petén lowland, in the north of Guatemala, is home to substantial Q’eqchi’ communities (in the southern Petén) and smaller Mopan and Itza’ communities (in the northern Petén around Flores and San José, on Lake Petén Itzá). The Petén was the heart of the pre-Columbian lowland Maya world, with major centers such as Tikal, and the modern Petén is one of the regions of greatest archaeological importance.

The Maya of Mexico

Mexico is the home of the second-largest Maya population, with around 1.2 million Maya-language speakers according to the 2020 census. The Mexican Maya are concentrated in three regions: the Yucatán Peninsula (Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo), the Chiapas highlands and lowlands, and a few smaller communities in Tabasco, San Luis Potosí, and Veracruz.

The Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucatán Peninsula, encompassing the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, is the heartland of the Yucatec Maya, with around 700,000–900,000 speakers. Yucatec Maya (also called Maaya t’aan) is the most widely spoken Maya language in Mexico and the second-most widely spoken Maya language overall, after K’iche’. The major Yucatec Maya communities include:

Valladolid and the surrounding Sotuta region, traditionally the heartland of the Sotuta Maya and the Xiu Maya lineages.
Mérida and the costa (coastal) regions, where fishing and agricultural communities have long histories.
Tixkokob, Kanasín, and the surrounding villages, famous for the embroidery of the terno (ceremonial dress) tradition.
Tekax, Peto, Oxkutzcab, Ticul, and the Puuc region, with their distinctive embroidery and agricultural traditions.
Quintana Roo, especially the Zona Maya south of the city of Cancún and Playa del Carmen, the heartland of the modern Cruzoob community and the site of the 19th-century Caste War as told on the Caste War and Yucatec resistance page.

The Yucatec Maya are also found in the Mexican states of Campeche (where the Mochó’ and other small Maya languages are also found) and in scattered communities in Tabasco and San Luis Potosí. The historical memory of the Caste War and the Cruzoob is one of the defining features of Quintana Roo Maya identity, and the modern organization of Maya communities in the Zona Maya continues to draw on Cruzoob traditions.

Chiapas

The Mexican state of Chiapas is the home of a large and culturally diverse Maya population, with major groups including:

Tzeltal (around 500,000 speakers), the largest Maya group in Chiapas, concentrated in the eastern and northern highlands. Major Tzeltal communities include Oxchuc, Tenejapa, Yajalón, and Altamirano.
Tzotzil (around 400,000 speakers), concentrated in the central highlands. Major Tzotzil communities include San Andrés Larráinzar (a center of the Zapatista movement), Zinacantán (famous for its flower traditions), Chamula (with its distinctive Catholic syncretism), and San Juan Chamula.
Tojolabal (around 50,000 speakers), concentrated in the eastern lowland and the Comitán region. The Tojolabal have been a major base of the Zapatista movement, with prominent Zapatista leaders including Subcomandante Marcos (a non-indigneous intellectual) and indigenous Tojolabal commanders.
Ch’ol (around 200,000 speakers), the third-largest Maya group in Chiapas, concentrated in the northern lowland. The Ch’ol heartland is the region of the Lacantún river and the Lacandon Jungle.
Lacandon (Hach Winik) (around 700–1,500 speakers), the smallest and most isolated Maya group in Chiapas, traditionally inhabiting the Lacandon Jungle in the eastern part of the state. The Lacandon have been heavily mythologized in popular culture and have struggled to maintain their cultural and territorial autonomy.
Mam in the western highlands of Chiapas (especially around Motozintla), and Q’anjob’al, Chuj, and Jakalteko in the western border region, where the communities straddle the Guatemalan-Mexican border.
Mocho’ (Motocintleco) (around 100–200 speakers), one of the most endangered Maya languages, spoken in a small number of communities in the Soconusco region of coastal Chiapas.

The Zapatista movement (EZLN) emerged in 1994 in the Chiapas highlands, with substantial support from Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal, and Ch’ol communities. The Zapatista autonomous municipalities have been one of the most important indigenous political experiments in the Americas, and the broader indigenous rights movement in Mexico has been substantially shaped by the Zapatista example.

The Huasteca

The Huasteca region, encompassing parts of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, and Hidalgo, is home to the Huastec (Wastek) Maya, a linguistic isolate that has been separated from the rest of the Maya area for centuries. The Huastec language has around 80,000–100,000 speakers and is the only surviving member of its branch of the Maya family. The Huastec region is geographically distant from the rest of the Maya area, and the Huastec Maya have developed a distinct cultural identity.

The Maya of Belize

Belize is the home of a smaller Maya population, but the country is the only one of the four Maya countries in which the Maya are an explicit constitutional minority, and the Belizean Maya have been at the center of a major legal and political struggle over indigenous land rights.

The 2010 Belizean census counted around 16,500 Maya, with community self-identification suggesting a total closer to 30,000 or more. The Belizean Maya are concentrated in three regions:

The Toledo District in the south, the heartland of the Mopan and Q’eqchi’ communities, with major towns including Punta Gorda and San Antonio.
The Orange Walk and Corozal Districts in the north, the heartland of the Yucatec Maya communities, with the Yucatec population descended from refugees of the 19th-century Caste War.
The Cayo District in the west, with a smaller but significant Maya presence, including both Mopan and Yucatec communities.

The 2007–2015 Maya Customary Land Tenure case, in which the Belizean Maya communities sued the Government of Belize for the recognition of their customary land rights, was a landmark case in Caribbean and Latin American indigenous rights law. The case culminated in a 2015 ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (the highest appellate court in Belize) in favor of the Maya communities. The ruling is treated in the broader context of modern Maya identity and survival.

The Maya of Honduras

Honduras is the home of the smallest of the four modern Maya populations, but the Honduran Maya are of particular historical importance as the descendants of the Ch’orti’ Maya of the pre-Columbian kingdom of Copán and Quiriguá.

The Ch’orti’ Maya of western Honduras, concentrated in the departments of Copán (the modern department that surrounds the pre-Columbian site of Copán), Ocotepeque, Lempira, and Santa Bárbara, are estimated to number between 10,000 and 30,000 people, depending on the source. The Ch’orti’ heartland in Honduras is closely connected to the Ch’orti’ communities of eastern Guatemala (especially the departments of Chiquimula, Jalapa, and Zacapa), and the Ch’orti’ have a substantial cross-border presence.

The Ch’orti’ language is critically endangered in Honduras, with declining numbers of fluent speakers. The Ch’orti’ Maya in Honduras are also one of the most economically marginalized populations in the country, with limited access to education, health care, and political representation. The Honduran Ch’orti’ have been active in the indigenous rights movement, including the founding of CONICHH (the Consejo Nacional Indígena Chortí de Honduras) and engagement with international indigenous rights instruments.

There are also small Lenca and Tolupán (Xicaque) populations in Honduras, both of which are non-Maya but have been included in the broader indigenous rights movement. The Lenca activist Berta Cáceres, who was assassinated in 2016, was one of the most prominent indigenous leaders in 21st-century Honduras.

The Maya of El Salvador

The historical Maya presence in El Salvador is well documented, but the modern Maya population is small and politically marginal. The Pipil (also called Nawat-speakers) of western El Salvador are an Uto-Aztecan-speaking people, not Maya. The Lencas of eastern El Salvador are also non-Maya. The Ch’orti’ Maya of the western border region (the department of Santa Ana) are a small population with limited political visibility.

The Maya diaspora

The 21st-century Maya diaspora is one of the most important developments in modern Maya history. The largest diaspora is in the United States, with major concentrations in:

Los Angeles, a major center of K’iche’, Kaqchikel, and Mam Maya communities.
Houston, a major center of Maya migrants from Chiapas (especially Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Ch’ol).
Chicago, with substantial K’iche’ and Kaqchikel communities.
New York, with a long-standing Maya community.
South Florida (Miami, Hialeah, Homestead), with significant Maya migrant communities.
Washington, D.C. and the surrounding metropolitan area.
California (San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego), with substantial Maya communities.

The U.S. Maya diaspora has produced its own cultural institutions: Maya-language schools, dance troupes, soccer leagues, religious societies, and political organizations. The Maya Community Center of Los Angeles, the Mam-Maya Community of Houston, and the National Maya Education Council are among the major diaspora institutions. The U.S. Maya diaspora has also generated its own scholarship, with a substantial body of diaspora Maya scholarship in Maya studies programs at U.S. universities.

The Mexican Maya diaspora in Mexico City, Tijuana, Guadalajara, and other major cities is also substantial, with a particular concentration in the Zona Maya of Quintana Roo, which has attracted internal migrants from the highlands and from Guatemala. The Canadian Maya diaspora is concentrated in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, and the European Maya diaspora is concentrated in Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and London.

The cultural diversity of the modern Maya

The cultural diversity of the modern Maya is one of the defining features of the modern Maya world. A highland K’iche’ farmer from Totonicapán and a lowland Q’eqchi’ milpero from Alta Verapaz share certain broad cultural features — the centrality of maize, the milpa cycle, the ritual year, the huipil — but they speak different languages, have different ritual traditions, eat different foods, and have different histories of colonial and post-colonial engagement. The Tzotzil weaver of Zinacantán and the Yucatec fisherman of Tulum are both Maya, but they share little more than the basic cultural vocabulary of Mesoamerica.

The 21st-century Pan-Maya movement has emphasized the unity of the Maya, but the diversity is real. The page on modern Maya identity and survival treats the politics of unity and diversity, and the page on Maya languages today describes the linguistic diversity in more detail. The site has dedicated coverage of the major linguistic and ethnic groups, and the Cultural and political history of the modern Maya is treated in the broader context of the history of the Maya civilization pages.

Sources

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Stoll, D. (1999). Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans. Westview Press. — link
O’Neill, K. L. (2010). City of God: Pentecostalism, Soccer, and the Making of a Christian Guatemala. University of California Press. — link
Loucky, J. & Simonelli, J. (2002). Crossing the Waters: Maya and Ladino Interaction in Guatemala. Rowman & Littlefield. — link
Watanabe, J. M. (1992). Maya Saints and Souls in a Changing World. University of Texas Press. — link
Hale, C. R. (2006). Más Que Un Indio / More Than an Indian: Racial Ambivalence and the Paradox of Decolonization. SAR Press. — link
Burns, A. F. (1993). Maya in Exile: Guatemalans in Florida. Temple University Press. — link