El Progreso Department
| El Progreso | ||
|---|---|---|
| Department | ||
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 El Progreso |
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| Country |
 Guatemala
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| Department | Guastatoya | |
| Capital | Guastatoya | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Departmental | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1,922 km2 (742 sq mi) | |
| Population (Census 2013) | ||
| • Total | 163,537 | |
| • Religions | Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Maya | |
| Time zone | -6 | |
El Progreso (Spanish pronunciation: [el pɾoˈɣɾeso]) is a department in Guatemala. The departmental capital is Guastatoya. The Spanish established themselves in the region by 1551, after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. El Progreso was declared a department in 1908, but was dissolved in 1920 before being reestablished in 1934. Guastatoya was badly affected by the 1976 Guatemala earthquake.
The department is located in northeastern Guatemala. It is bordered by the departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, Jalapa, and Zacapa. The department occupies an intermediate zone between the hot lowlands and the cooler Guatemalan Highlands, and has a generally hot climate. The most important river is the Motagua. To the north, the department is crossed by the Sierra de las Minas mountain range. The main population centres in El Progreso are Sanarate, Guastatoya, and San Agustín Acasaguastlán. The department is crossed by the CA-9 Atlantic Highway, linking it with Guatemala City and the Atlantic port of Puerto Barrios.
The vast majority of the population of the department are Spanish-speaking Ladinos. The population is growing, but at a rate below the national average. At the same time, the illiteracy rate is falling.
Historically, the area now included in the department of El Progreso was known as Guastatoya or Huastatoya, derived from Nahuatl huäxyötl or huäxin ("calabash") and atoyac ("last"), meaning the last place that calabashes grow, a reference to the change in altitude that occurs in the department, and corresponding climatic change from cold to hot.
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